I DREAM OF RAINBOWS
by LADARTHA
Summary: Her Gran had always told her about rainbows and how they reflect different achievements of life. Bella ticked off at each stage of her life her rainbows, that is until she met the CEO of Cullen Production Company. The company had a good reputation, but, the CEO, Edward Cullen had the reputation of being a playboy, the love them and leave them type of asshat; his eyes were on Bella.
1. Chapter 1

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 **CHAPTER 1: PROLOGUE**

My Gran always told me to dream of rainbows, but, don't always expect them to be seen only after a rainfall. That rainfalls and storms sweeping across the land was God's way of reminding the people of the history of his promise to Noah and the reason for that promise. That He would shine a rainbow as a reminder that He was keeping His promise to mankind.

"Now, my child, that story is in the Bible and we all bear witness each time the skies opened to pour forth his tears because of the world's stupidity and cruelty at times. But, child, those aren't the only rainbows that God grants to his people."

"But, Gran, the Bible only talking about rainbows after a storm. Gran, are you sure you know what you're saying?" I quietly tell her and then asked with a bit of a smirk as I believe she is starting to lose her mind the way children do. And instead of being insulted she just smiled and gave a slight chuckle.

She answered, "No, child, I'm quite sane. In each obstacle conquered, in each goal a person achieves, in each prayer answered, these are all rainbows as well. And, some reach far enough out for many to see, or, remain small enough for only a few to see.

"It makes no difference how small or how big the rainbow is or how many people view it, it still acts as a reminder of a brighter tomorrow. And, lets us know that if we believe then we can reach for our personal stars and gain a hold of them. Just remember that as you dream of achieving something and then work towards reaching your goal that you are dreaming of rainbows and once that dream comes true you have received your rainbow." She explained in a voice that you would swear was filled with nothing but wisdom. And, then it was shortly after that visit that she was gone from me in a visual sense, but, in a very personal, spiritual sense she remains by my side.

So, as I stand before the doorway that leads to hell and the devil himself, I think about to those words of my Gran and wonder what wisdom she could pass on to me now that could help me to turn this situation around to where I could see more rainbows?

Yeah! Yeah! I know you're wondering what I'm talking about and what brought me to the point that I'm thinking I'm about to open the door to enter hell and meet once again the devil that controls it.

I guess the best way to explain is to tell you about my biggest rainbows in my life that have occurred up to this point. First there was my graduation from high school; something that, at times, I believed would never come quickly enough. Then when I graduated from college with my BA and once again as I got my Masters in English and Journalism. These events were all shared with my family and friends, both old and new.

From there I found out as I was looking for a job with some of the publishing houses that I didn't have to worry about working anytime soon if I chose not to. Gran had left me a small fortune; something that would last me a lifetime, really, and as her attorney said, 'beyond that to my children if I invested it wisely.' I did take that advice to heart and sought out professional help to do exactly that, but, still I wanted to work and feel like I was contributing my fair share to the world, so, I did continue seeking employment. It was found after about three months of searching.

It was during those three months of searching and then another year as time permitted that I was able to achieve an important dream of mine: writing a best seller and having it made into a movie. Bingo! Another rainbow that Gran described.

My novel was published, did become a best seller and was bought to be made into a movie. However, never did I realize that the CEO of Cullen Productions, Inc. would be the one to buy my book. Before the deal went through I had talked with my cousin Rosalie who happened to be an established actress about the offer and she told me that the company was highly regarded in the show biz industry.

In fact, both of my cousins had achieved their dream rainbows when Rosalie Hale became a much sought after actress and Mary Alice Brandon became a renowned dresser and fashion designer to the stars. But, it was Alice, as she preferred to be called, that did warn me about the playboy CEO of the company and filled in the facts of how he had taken over the company after his father had retired. Of course, she also told me of how his brothers, Emmett and Jasper were also very much involved with the company as well.

It was Jasper Whitlock Cullen that had approached me about buying my book, but, I informed him upon the advice of my financial advisor that I would be retaining the copyrights of my accomplishment. But, Rosalie and Alice, both, advised that I have written into the contract that I should have a say into who will portray the main characters in the movie. And once the deal was signed, sealed and delivered I was introduced to the director of the film, Emmett McCarty Cullen.

Then fur began to fly from the first meeting with Mr. Edward Cullen himself. For some reason he thought that I was part of the total deal and everything has been in a complete upheaval from that point onward.

Oh, well, I guess I had best fill you into all of the events that have led me to this point of getting ready to pull the plug on the whole project and kick the shit out of asshat Cullen.

 **A/N: Hope that you will enjoy this new journey of our beloved couples. What all has made Edward an assward? What type of problems has Bella encountered with him? How has she handled it all and what is she planning to do to end everything to be able to just walk away?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Then fur began to fly from the first meeting with Mr. Edward Cullen himself. For some reason he thought that I was part of the total deal and everything has been in a complete upheaval from that point onward._

 _Oh, well, I guess I had best fill you into all of the events that have led me to this point of getting ready to pull the plug on the whole project and kick the shit out of asshat Cullen._

 **CHAPTER 2: MOVING FAST**

Believe it or not, it all happened the day I finished my manuscript, reread it for the umpteen time to edit for any errors, was finally satisfied that it was ready to send in to my agent whom I'd hired awhile back, for him to submit to a publishing house for consideration.

After that I simply got ready for work and forgot all about it as I was fully expecting a rejection slip to come in the mail telling me 'nice try, but, not good enough' type of contents. You know the type of impersonal letter I'm talking about; the one that is nothing more than computer generated with no warmth in the wording whatsoever, even though, someone, somewhere is mistakeningly thinking that it does convey a compassionately no deal. So, imagine my surprise when no letter came, but, a visit from a very excited agent.

He found me in my office at work one day, interrupting my concentration as I was quickly reading through some manuscripts from other up and coming authors as well as some established authors that was assigned to me exclusively to handle and that were trying to make it to the top of the best seller list once more. Those were the easiest to read as they really held my interest from start to finish, but, sometimes an unknown will cross my desk that has the grace and polish of an accomplished piece of work. That it is so outstanding that I take it to my boss for further evaluation just to give it a fair chance of becoming published.

Of course, not that I'm disloyal or anything, but, the publishing company that I'm working for isn't one that I wanted to submit my manuscript to. It just didn't seem ethical to me somehow. So, to try to keep down the accusation of favoritism in case my book was published, my agent did submit it to a different publisher so I could feel that it had a fair look through.

"Damn, Mark, what has you so hyper?" I had demanded after telling him continually to 'wait a minute' only to see him squirming around as if he was a 'cat on a hot tin roof' type situation. It had finally gotten on my last nerve which brought me to demand an explanation in the tone of voice that I'd used to him.

"You won't believe it, but, you'll never guess what's happened. Nope, you'll never believe it. Even now, though I've checked things out, you'll still never believe it. Not in a million years are you going to believe me." The man kept going on and on in the same vein until I snapped on him totally.

"What in the hell are you talking about and you better spit it out this time, or, get the hell out of here so I can get some work done."

"I tell you you'll never beli-" Mark Strollman never made it any further with what he was about to say before Bella held her hand up to stop him mid word. "All right, but, take my word for what I'm about to tell you. For once I heard I did take the time to verify the information to make sure it was correct and factual." And, with that said he paused for dramatic effect, at least, to him it was for that reason.

"What are you talking about man? I'm getting tired of asking."

"I got word back of an almost unheard happening and it has to do with you."

"Okay, I guess. Am I supposed to guess what it is that you're talking about? Or am I going to hear about it anytime soon?"

"I've been telling you, but, you're not listening." Mark told her a bit impatiently.

"No, Mark, you haven't said anything that made any sense except that I wouldn't believe it."

"I got a letter in today from the publishing company and, although, it's unusual to have a first manuscript published by the first publisher it's sent to it does happen and that's what's happening to your book.

"Normally, a young writer would have to foot the bill to a certain extent to have first manuscript published by any first time submission, but, in your case that isn't necessary."

"What did you say?" Was all that Bella could manage to get out since her surprise was as great as what Mark had predicted.

"You're about to become a published author and at no expense to yourself." Mark told her in plain English with the biggest smile humanly possible to have spread across his face. It was kind of comical to see since it was that big.

Bella was speechless as she was trying to give her brain time to catch up with what Mark had just told her. He was right about it being unique to have a first time manuscript published by the first publisher you have submitted. Normally, you go through a list of rejections before getting one that accepts it. And Bella allowed her thoughts to wander off into a 'what if' set of circumstances that all newly published authors seemed to do from her understanding with some of her established clients and new ones as well. Now, she could be counted amongst their list as she was following the same path it seemed they had when they first got accepted.

But, she was jerked quickly back into the present as Mark cleared his throat rather loudly in an effort to regain her attention. "You haven't been listening to a single word that I've said for the last few minutes." He admonished her with a bit of laughter in his tone of voice. The joy that was evident upon her face was the same as to what he was also feeling.

Mark was new to the agent game and Bella was his first client. The agency he had joined were quick to see his potential, they said, and moved to have him as a member of their business family. After that he was assigned to handle only new applying clients so they could see how well he took care of them. So, this acceptance in this short amount of time with his very first client was exciting for him as well as it was for Bella.

He felt like he was finally proving himself worthy to be in the business that he had chosen for a career. Of course, not all of his clients were from the world of books, some were from sports, entertainment and the industry behind the entertainment business. The firm had wanted to put him out there with models, but, he drew the line in that area; it definitely wasn't his area of expertise as that spelt trouble and he had no desire to dance off into it. That would really lead to mess up after mess up and no redemption whatsoever from anyone if he had to handle any women models. No, that was definitely not any area he wanted to be involved in at all. Of course, Mark had forgotten that men were models as well.

Both agent and client quickly pulled themselves back to the situation before them and Bella asked, "Well, Mark, what is the next step that we need to take now?"

"I need to go over the contract and then discuss the payment being offered before I can even allow you to sign on the dotted line. Although, I must say that from what little has been mentioned in the letter which I have here for you, the terms seem to be fair.

"You do know that I'm new to this area of business, so, I want to confer with others in the agency to make sure you're being offered the best deal possible. That way I would feel like I'm doing right by you, the agency and myself." He explained to her with a smile lighting up his face and being reflected within his eyes. His excitement was definitely showing.

"Okay, I'll check with my boss from this end as well to see what would be a fair offer. That side of the business is outside my area of experience. It generally falls to the bosses and not the editors. Hopefully that information will help to give you a basis as to how to gauge their offer against two unbiased sources.

"Then I want to have an attorney look over everything before I sign any sort of paperwork concerning the deal."

"Thanks. That would be great. Bella, thanks for being so understanding and trusting in this matter. I just want to make sure that I don't let you down as I'm finding my way in this business. So, I can understand why you might want to have an attorney to look over everything."

"So far, Mark, I feel that you're making all of the right moves and decisions to look out for my interest. But, I hope that you do truly understand as to why I want an attorney to give the contract a final going over."

"I most definitely do. It was something that I'd recommended when you came to me to be your agent. You need to make sure that you're covered legally. I would be doing the same thing if I was in your place."

XXXXXX

"Who would ever have thought that I would be doing this? My book hitting the best seller list and one more city left to end this book tour. It's been fun, at least, in the beginning, but, now, it's just plain tiring. I'll be glad to get home and have my life back to normal."

"Bella, what are you going to do once you're back in Seattle? Look for another job or start another book?"

"Mark, I'm not quite sure. I can understand why I was fired, but, it still hurts. I knew that I was going to have to take a leave of absence to do this tour, but, to be told that I had betrayed the trust of the company that I was working for was an entirely different thing altogether.

"I felt that I was doing the right thing telling you to take my manuscript to other publishing houses and not to the one I'm working at. I really believed that my manuscript would be published by them just because I worked there and felt that anything I was told wouldn't necessarily be the truth.

"Now, that decision, although, I would still make the same one if presented with the same circumstances, is coming back to bite me in the ass."

"I think they were being a little over the top too, but, what can you do?"

"I don't know, but, I will take a bit of time once we're home to decide which direction I need to go now. It isn't that I need to work, but, I do like to feel like I'm using my education to the fullest and have meaning to my life.

"To me it's a crime for someone that doesn't need to work to just spend their life in useless pursues of desire. It's also a waste of money and time. That isn't how I was raised. I need to have purpose to my life." Bella was trying to explain to her friend and agent.

"Believe me, I fully understand. I don't have the same luxury of finances as you do, but, I admire how you want to give your life meaning."

"Let's get off of this morbid subject and finish up the tour and then head home. Once there we can let loose a bit and then I can decide what I want to do next. However, you can count on another book." Bella finished speaking with a smile as she had suddenly gotten an idea for a new story.

XXXXXX

Once the plane had landed both Mark and Bella had gone to collect their luggage so they could go to their separate homes and see about relaxing for a change.

Bella entered her home, dropped everything where she stood once the door had closed behind her and moved towards the bedroom. At that point all she wanted to do was to sleep until she couldn't any longer. She was that bone weary from the constant traveling and book signing from this tour.

As she had told Mark, in the beginning it was fun and exciting because it was new, but, it didn't take long for the newness to wear off and the exhaustion to start to set in. She felt like she was lucky at times just to remember what city they were in and not worrying about where they would be next. So, it was no wonder that she was glad to be home and to be able to fall into her own bed for however long she wanted to.

But, as fate would have it she was startled awake in just a matter of hours by the constant bang on her front door.

 **A/N: Bella is learning first hand that even being a best seller author is hard work. But, it seems that the publishing company she was working for took a dim view of things once they found out about her going to a competitor to have her book published. Were they right in being so hardnosed about it all?**

 **And now that she's back home and getting some rest someone or something is banging on her door demanding attention. What's going on?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _As she had told Mark, in the beginning it was fun and exciting because it was new, but, it didn't take long for the newness to wear off and the exhaustion to start to set in. She felt like she was lucky at times just to remember what city they were in and not worrying about where they would be next. So, it was no wonder that she was glad to be home and to be able to fall into her own bed for however long she wanted to._

 _But, as fate would have it she was startled awake in just a matter of hours by the constant bang on her front door._

 **CHAPTER 3: AND ANOTHER RAINBOW**

"Wait a minute!" she yelled at the door loud enough, hopefully, that the person on the other side of the door would cease their continual banging. And, then she was mumbling to herself as she continued to answer the door, "Damn, can't a person get a break and have a bit of peace in their own home without all of this disturbance?"

She threw the door open in a bit of temper to see a good looking stranger standing there. He was a tall, not really muscular, but, definitely tone and took care of his body, stood about six feet or six one, in height with blonde hair and bright blue eyes and his looks weren't bad on the eyes either. But, with seeing him standing there without saying anything as if waiting for her to say the first word, silence seemed to stretch to the point of becoming uncomfortable.

Bella became aware that she hadn't done anything, but, just stood there staring at the man as he was waiting for her to give him some form of greeting. Jerking herself to her full senses she moved to one side in invitation and motioned for him to enter. Once he had stepped across the threshold far enough for her to close the door, she did and then moved around him to lead the way to the living room area and told him to take a seat. Then she started with, "Who are you and what is it that you want?"

"My name is Jasper Cullen and my company is most interested in acquiring certain rights to your book." He said without adding any further information, almost as if wanting to see how she was going to react to what little he had said.

Just being woken from a sound sleep that had been greatly needed and still was, Bella didn't react at the moment to what Jasper had said. She sat and stared at him as if he hadn't spoken a word, or, at least, wasn't speaking English. Her mind wasn't catching up to the situation that was being played out in her living room at the moment.

Finally, she did pull herself together enough to say, "Excuse me, but, I didn't quite catch what you said. I'm extremely tired and need to get some much needed sleep, so, I'm not meaning to be rude, but, what the hell do you want?"

Jasper had expected some sort of excitement or a favorable reception to his opening line and then further discussion of the details and then arrangements made for the offer to be finalized. But, this wasn't something that even presented itself into his prior experience before, especially, from an up and coming new author that was being presented with a unique opportunity such as he was about to offer.

"Excuse me, Ms. Swan, but, I don't think you understand, let alone realize, the unique deal I'm offering you. If you wou-" He had started to explain until Bella held her hand up for him to stop.

She told him, "Mr. Cullen, you probably are here to offer me some kind of fantastic deal, offer, or, whatever, but, right now I'm not interested since I'm too damn tried to give a rat's ass about discussing any kind of business.

"Besides, I have an agent, a financial advisor and an attorney that handles any discussions of business. If they're satisfied that things are worth my time they'll get in touch with me and arrange a meeting at that point. So, I suggest that whatever you're wanting to pedal to me that you go through them first. I'll be happy to supply their contact information if you need it." And with that said she rose and walked to the front door, opening it upon arrival and turned to look at the stranger that had his mouth open in total shock and surprise with a jaw hanging towards the floor. But, seeing that he wasn't going to be allowed to get any further he bade her a farewell and left with the door barely missing his butt as it closed behind him. Bella gave a great big yawn and without giving the incident further thought headed back to bed and to sleep.

She slept soundly around the clock until the following morning and was preparing breakfast before the memories of yesterday hit her in the face like she had blindly slammed into a brick wall. Reaching out for her phone she quickly dialed Mark's number and waited for an answer. It seemed like it was forever before he answered, so, once he did she abruptly demanded, "What took so damn long?" He answered that he had been sleeping and it was then that she did hear that his words had a sleep slurred quality to them.

"Hey, man, sorry to be such a bitch when you answered. Are you still catching up on your sleep from our return?" She asked him, but, all she heard was what sounded like a mumbled negative. And, with that answer she launched into explaining what had happened the morning before, or, at least, what she remembered of it.

The more she talked it seemed the more awake Mark became and he started to ask her questions concerning what had happened. With telling him all she could they ended the conversation with Mark being fully awake and saying he was going to get ready and go into the office to see if he could trace down what this offer was about and to confirm the validity of the company making the supposed offer.

Bella went back to getting her breakfast ready and then eating it. After eating and cleaning up the kitchen she began the tasks that were needed to freshen up her home by cleaning, dusting and doing the laundry that was left before her trip and that had accumulated during the trip. It helped to pass the time so she wasn't dwelling upon questions about what her visitor had wanted that her mind would have been formulating for the answers to be sought. All she needed to do was to let Mark do his job and he'd get back with her if and when the need arose to let her know the when and where she was needed.

XXXXXX

Once again Bella was awakened from a sound sleep, but, not by someone banging on her front door; instead it was by her phone ringing. It had stopped and started at least three times before she was awake enough to even realize that someone had been trying to call her; she noticed the three missed calls and it was about to be a fourth if she didn't answer the damn thing.

"'lo." She slurred into the phone, never taking the time to see who the missed calls, let alone, who the present call, was from. All she wanted to do this early since it was only a little before seven was to shut the damn thing up so she could get a little bit more rest.

Her body was demanding more rest since she had taken her cleaning duties to a deeper level than 'just a swipe and a promise'. Furniture had been moved as she ran the vac, floors in kitchen and bath areas scrubbed spotlessly clean, the dusting was more of using furniture polish and a rag variety, the fridge had been dealt with as well with a thorough cleaning to be ready for restocking, the laundry had all been done then folded and put away and all of the bed linen and covers changed then washed as well. But, the final chore had been to do walls and baseboards with a light washing and drying with a rag to make sure all of the dust was cleared away that had collected since her last deep cleaning.

All of this had kept Bella's mind from dwelling on her visitor as she went through her day and that night after a long soak in the tub she hit the bed ready for the soothing sleep that her body deserved. True there had been odd moments throughout the day when she had considering calling Mark just to see if he had found out anything, but, managed to refrain from doing so. Instead, she just moved on to her next project and that was the way her whole day had gone until bed that night.

Now, she was being awoken by the blasted ringing of her phone because someone couldn't wait until a decent hour to call and had finally answered the annoying thing, she was waiting to for someone to tell her the reason for the call.

"Bella, you there?" The caller which turned out to be Mark was asking since he hadn't gotten any response from her as it seemed he had been talking to her while her mind was going down a different avenue. "Come on woman answer me." He demanded a little impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here, but, do you realize what time of the morning it is?"

"I do and I needed to catch you early so you could get down to my office by eight thirty. A meeting is taking place a little later today with your visitor from the other day, but, I want the time to go over all of the details before we go into this meeting." Mark explained to her once he was sure he had her full attention.

"Can't you tell me about it now?"

"No, because you're not fully awake. But, I will tell you this, it's big. Bigger than big and the whole office is excited for us."

"Excited for 'us'? What 'us' are you talking about?"

"You, because of the offer that is coming your way, and me, because I'm your agent and what I do for you affects the agency. That's the 'us' I'm talking about." He explained and it was at that moment that Bella was able to pick up on the barely suppressed excitement that was being reflected in his voice.

"Okay. As much as I need the rest to still level out from the trip and from all of the cleaning I did yesterday, I'll be there. And, just so you'll know, Mark, I might be a little late, so, don't get your knickers in a twist." Bella told him.

As she disconnected from the call and tossed her phone onto the bed, Bella started to feel an unexplained excitement and her mind was quickly trying to come up with all of the possible reasons as to why her agent was so excited and why she was being affected by his held in check excitement. She did wonder why Mark didn't just go ahead and give her some more information than what he had as to why he wanted the early meeting and as what the meeting with the stranger was about as well.

Glancing at the clock she decided she had time to get ready and have a decent breakfast before meeting with Mark, but, that would only happen if she moved her butt at that moment instead of continuing to lay in bed and allow her mind free rein as to the possibilities.

Throwing the covers back, she got up and started getting ready. Next, she fixed breakfast and after eating she put the dishes into the dish washer along with the pans she had used, started the machine and walked into the living room to get her things in preparation for leaving.

XXXXXX

Walking into Mark's office, Bella surprised him. He was on the phone and was unaware that she was standing in the doorway listening to him conducting a conversation with someone that had to do with another one of his clients. Or, as Bella learned the longer she listened, a new client that was wanting an upcoming part in a movie that was going to be auditioning within the next few days.

As he was listening Mark happened to look over at his door and noticed Bella standing there with a smile. He motioned for her to take a seat as he finished his call. So, she walked forwards and took the chair that was just on her side of his desk and waited, but, she didn't have to wait too long.

When he hung up he just sat there and looked at her for a moment while a big smile slowly spread across his face. Then he said, "You are one lucky person. Your visitor is here to offer making a movie out of your book"

And when Bella heard that and it had had time to move from her ears to her brain to be processed, she sucked in a bit of a breath.

 **A/N: Shock of shocks, someone wants to make a movie out of her book. Bella is going to have many questions and some decisions to make. What will all of those be?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _When he hung up he just sat there and looked at her for a moment while a big smile slowly spread across his face. Then he said, "You are one lucky person. Your visitor is here to offer making a movie out of your book"_

 _And when Bella heard that and it had had time to move from her ears to her brain to be processed, she sucked in a bit of a breath._

 **CHAPTER 4: DECISIONS, DECISIONS**

"What did you say?" She questioned in a state of shock as if she hadn't heard him correctly, or, as if he was speaking a foreign language.

"I said your visitor from yesterday, a Mr. Jasper W. Cullen, represents a production company in L. A. that wants to make your book into a movie."

"Okay, and this all isn't making any more sense at the moment than what little I remember him saying yesterday. Everyone feels they only have to say a little and seems to be expecting me to fill in a whole lot more. Not happening, my friend and agent."

"Bella, this sort of thing does happen when the reception by the public of a book is outstanding. Also, if the book has something to say other than just fluff, it is expected, or, at least, hoped, by every author to have their book made into a movie.

"What I'm not understanding is why you don't seem to be excited about this proposal. You're not reacting an in any recognizable way that expresses any sort of joy over this news." Mark finished telling his client as she sat there in a dazed type of trance.

Hearing his admonishment of how she was behaving was slowly beginning to percolate through to her brain which caused her to mentally chuckle and ask herself, _"Just how in the hell am I supposed to react to such news? Isn't each person supposed to react to things differently and in their own way?"_

"You know, Mark, you might be right about the average person's reaction, but, I'm not going to fall all over myself, you, or, this Mr. Cullen just because he shows up with an offer concerning my book.

"You can talk with him and have Carson sitting in on the meeting as well so you both can tell me from the different angles on just how good this offer is. In fact, you should probably get a hold of Henry Carver, my financial advisor, and have him sit in on this meeting as well. He would be looking at everything from a monetary point of view as to what would be of benefit and what wouldn't.

"Once you have done that then come back at me with all of the details of the offer and your recommendations and then I might give you the reaction that you seem to be wanting." Bella told Mark, but, before he could have a chance to get a hold of Carson Darwell, Bella's attorney, or, Henry Carver, she reached into her purse to pull out her own cell phone and dialed the lawyer herself. So, while she was doing that he placed a call to Henry.

After giving her name to the receptionist Bella was put through immediately and wasted no time in filling in Carson as to the purpose of her call. He asked a few questions to which she really didn't have the answers and wasn't sure if Mark had too many of the answers himself. "What I would like for you to do is to sit in on the meeting with Mark, Henry and this Cullen guy. You would be able to know more of what sounds good legally, Henry would understand what would work financially where Mark would be there to protect my literary interest.

"After the meeting then you three can let me know what the outcome was and what you recommend as to what to accept and what to reject along with what changes you two think should be made." With expressing her opinion in this manner in front of Mark she was able to bow herself out of the deal making until such time she was really needed. This way she could do what she still needed to do by taking care of other business and didn't have to worry about attending the upcoming meeting.

Bella got through with her call and then, without any sign of shame, listened in as Mark was finishing his call. It didn't take much to realize that he was talking with Henry and making arrangements for him to attend the meeting along with all of Bella's other representatives. She smiled as he hung up and told her agent that it was time for her to leave as she had other things that she needed to get done today. "Let me know when you have everything in order and want to meet with me about what all of you have to say from this afternoon's meeting." And so saying she rose, walked around and gave Mark a hug, stepped back and with a smile along with a wave of the hand she gathered her things together and left.

XXXXXX

Leaving Mark's office Bella headed back towards her home, but, decided to do some shopping at Pike's Place Market and then finish up restocking her cupboards, freezer and refrigerator with all of the groceries she was going to be needing from the grocery that was near her home that she wasn't able to get from Pike's Place Market.

After all of that was done and with everything put away in its proper place, Bella sat down and sent a quick text to her cousins, Rosalie Hale and Alice Brandon. They both had had a big dream and had definitely achieved their goals in L. A. which granted them their rainbows, as Gran would have said.

Rosalie had always wanted to be a model or an actress. So, after she had graduated from high school she had been granted admittance into the Los Angeles School of Acting where she learned her craft. It was while she was attending one class that she was 'discovered', as she puts it, and the rest became history. Of course, Rose was no fool, she continued with her studies while working on various short term projects in the movie industry. And, she did get to model some on the side as she proved her abilities in acting, so, did the demand for her to try modeling begin and she took off in both of the fields that she had wanted to have as a career. But acting was her primary choice and she did the modeling, more or less, as a hobby.

Now, Mary Alice Brandon, who uses simply her middle name, had always wanted to be a designer and have the name along with the reputation of dressing the stars; not just for social events, but, for everyday wear as well. Alice just seemed to have a natural talent for designing clothes and was a whiz kid with a sewing machine, so, of course, Rose's and Bella's clothes were always new and different from anyone else's outfits.

Alice went east to study design at Columbia in their arts department as well as business and while doing this she took a part time job at a small, but, exclusive fashion shop not far from campus. It was while working there that the owner one day saw some of Alice's designs and wanted to have them displayed in her shop. It was at that moment that Alice's dream began coming true and put her on the path to achieving her goal and her rainbow.

So, now both Rosalie was a world known actress and was considered to be an A-lister in Hollywood while Alice was in L. A. designing and dressing the stars just like she wanted.

And, as Bella was waiting for a response from the text she had sent both her cousins she was letting her mind wander, just drift really, searching, for the idea that would inspire another novel. So, it was no wonder that getting as relaxed as she was with the mind drifting she became so relaxed that she dozed right on off to sleep.

Suddenly, she was jarred awake by the blaring of music; it was the ringtone for Alice. "Hey, cuz, what's up? Why the text asking me to call once I had some extra time on my hands?"

Bella laughed as she was stretching her cramped muscles that had developed from falling asleep on the sofa in a seating position and replied, "Because I wasn't sure what your schedule was and didn't want to interrupt something important."

"Important?! What do you classify important? Everything I do is important, including talking with you." Alice told her without hesitation and with a bit of indignity sounding in her tone of voice.

"Okay, don't get on you high horse. I wasn't sure if you were with a very important client, in a meeting or being creative. That's why the text to you and Rose."

"Something happen that we need to be aware?" Was the simple question that Alice asked. Then she continued, "From what I've heard and read your book tour was a great success."

"Yeah, it was and I'm beat. When I first got back my ass was wiping out my tracks with each step taken until I hit the bed." Bella answered her and they both had a good laugh over the phrase that Bella had used to describe her weariness. It was then that Bella went on to tell her about the events that have been taking place over the last few days.

Alice listened quietly and then shrieked, "That's fantastic. Your book being made into a movie. Which production company is offering for it?"

"The Cu- Hey, hold on a minute, Rose is calling in. I'll see about conferencing all of us together and we can all talk." Alice quickly agreed as it had been awhile since she had seen or talked with Rosalie, even though they both lived in the same town. Their work kept them busy enough that it was hard to get together too often. Most of the time one or the other was out of town for a project that had to do with their chosen profession.

Once everyone confirmed they were connected Bella along with Alice quickly brought Rosalie up to speed on what was happening in Bella's life. "And it was at that point I had asked her which company was offering for the movie rights when you called just as she was about to answer. So, without further ado, dear cousin, answer the question." Alice explained to Rose and then demanded of Bella.

"The Cullen Production Company." Bella answered simply before adding, "It was a Jasper Cullen that came making the offer. At the moment I have Mark, Henry and Carson meeting with Mr. Cullen to hash out the deal to where my rights are protected."

Alice gave a squeal and then launched into a detail description of the three brothers in control of the production company that was making an offer for making Bella's creation into a movie. She talked about how the CEO, Edward, was more of a playboy and took over running the company when his father, Carlisle, had decided to retire, how Emmett was a teddy bear until he was crossed and was a well-respected director and Jasper was the one seeking and procuring new projects for the company.

It was here that Rose interrupted Alice's descriptive roll to tell Bella, "The best advice I can give you is to make sure that you have written into the contract that you maintain say over who will play the main characters. That way they can't just throw the part to anyone that might be the favor of the day, week or month, if you catch my meaning."

"Rosalie is right about that. So, many times I've heard someone ranting about how they wished they had had more say over who would play such and such character, believing that if they had had a said then the movie might have done better and the integrity of story might have been betrayed better."

The three women continued talking a bit longer about Bella's offer and then moved on to other topics and discussed what was happening in both Rosalie's and Alice's lives since last they had all spoken together. The areas discussed wasn't just about their business projects, but, covered the different men involved in their personal lives.

They were so engrossed in their conversation that it took a moment or two for Bella to realize that someone was at her door knocking. She glanced quickly at the clock on the wall in front of her and realized how long the three had been on the phone talking. "Hey, you two, someone's at the door so I'm going to have to end this interesting conversation and just for your information we've been on the phone for over two hours. I'll keep you informed as to what's going on with the offer."

So, as Bella rose from the sofa and everyone was saying their goodbyes she moved to answer the door. Once she had it opened she saw that it was Mark, Carson and Henry.

 **A/N: Bella had a chance to catch up with how her cousins' lives were going and all of the events happening with them. She was able to give them an update about herself as well and had Rosalie to offer some sound advice about the contract. As the conversation ended with a knocking at Bella's door and she opened it to observe not just one person, but, three and they were the three that attended the meeting to be able to offer their recommendation of how she should handle the contract. Why did all three men show up instead of just Mark? What will be their suggestions for Bella's benefit?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _So, as Bella rose from the sofa and everyone was saying their goodbyes she moved to answer the door. Once she had it opened she saw that it was Mark, Carson and Henry._

 **CHAPTER 5: GETTING WHAT WE WANT**

With seeing her three representatives standing on the doorstep waiting for her to allow them entrance, Bella did move to one side and motioned for the three to come on in while pointing towards the living room area. Closing the door after them she told them to take a seat and then offered a drink if they wanted one, but, each refused for the moment. They were anxious to get down to business and see about getting the issues laid out to their client, have a discussion as to the merits of their recommendations and to have her deliver, if possible a decision as to what she wanted done or for them to do on her behalf.

All three men told Bella of the offer and reassured her that what Cullen Productions were willing to pay her was very generous, but, Henry wasn't quite so enthusiastic when the mention about buying the rights for the book. Bella was very quick to catch this fact and without any hesitation looked him straight in the eye and asked, "What seems to be the problem that you picked up on in the contract, Henry?"

"My dear, I've handled your financials for a few years now and although, I have to say the offer is generous, it does take over any future earnings from you and transfers it to themselves concerning royalties' towards both the movie and publications."

"I don't fully understand what you're saying, although, I do have a guess."

But, before she could say anything else, Henry started speaking once more by explaining that the production company would own the book if she accepts the contract as it is and she would be signing away her rights to have any say in the future concerning her novel. "So, what I'm recommending, and, I hope the other two here are in agreement, is that you accept the offer, but, with the stipulation that you maintain your copyright of the book. That it's made very clear in the contract that Cullen Productions is only purchasing the right to make the book into a movie and nothing else.

"We need to make sure that you will receive not only the purchase price, but, a percentage of the royalties from any showings of the movie both now and in the future no matter how distant another showing might be. And, along with that a clear and definitive understanding, that although the company maintains their rights to the screenplay or script, that they will never have any rights to any income from any future publications of the book itself; that will remain yours and yours alone."

Bella looked at the other two who had a look of surprise, but, also, were nodding their heads as if encouraging her to accept Henry's recommendations. She studied all three a few moments as if waiting for any other recommendations from them, however, when nothing else was forthcoming Bella informed them that she had a requirement that she wanted written into the contract.

"And, what might that be?" Mark asked even though the other two were waiting to hear any of her ideas or demands that they might have to handle for her.

"I accept Henry's recommendations because there is no way in hell that I'm going to give up any future rights to my book, so, I will maintain the copyright. But, I have it on good authority that I need written into the contract that I have final say and approval on who will be portraying the major characters in the story." This more or less shell shocked the three men as it wasn't something that had even been considered and they were surprised that their client had done so.

"Bella, how did you manage to come up with this idea? Don't you think that the Production Company would only hire the best to portray the characters since they're putting forth so much of their finances and time to make and release this?"

"That might be so, but, I still insist on my requirement and if they're not willing to accept it then no deal. Both Henry's recommendations and my requirement are to be included in the contract in all ways that I'm protected from any loopholes they might try to come up with later to cause me loss of what is rightfully my property. And, I can tell you this and you can tell Mr. Cullen, that not having these included will be the deal breaker, no if's, and's, or but's about it."

"Calm down, young lady," Carson tells Bella as he tries to keep her from getting too worked up over the issues. "I don't think that what you're asking for is unreasonable and we'll see that it's all done as you want. Right, guys?" He told her and then asked of the other two men as he turned slightly to look at each to see them nod in response to his question.

Mark, however, was a bit curious about how Bella came about thinking of her demand to be added before allowing the Cullen Production Company to make a movie out of her book. He knew that the only way to have an answer was to ask her outright, "Bella, how did you decide to have the right of say concerning who the final actors will be?"

"Oh, that's simple; I was telling my cousins, Rosalie Hale and Alice Brandon, about the offer that was being made and between the two of them it was suggested and seconded. Rosalie suggested and Alice was quick to fill me in on the individuals that ran the company and informed me about some of the people that she encountered that had voiced a disappointment because they hadn't insisted on the clause that I'm insisting to be included.

"As you know both Rose and Alice are in a position that would be able to give that sort of advice and would have the knowledge to give the reasoning for suggesting it."

After that the four continued talking and managed to fine tune everything that Bella had agreed to have in the contract before they all called it an evening. However, while still at Bella's and just as the evening was winding down, Mark made a call to Jasper Cullen and arranged for a meeting once more between Jasper and Bella's three representatives.

It seemed from what the other occupants of the room overheard that Mr. Cullen had asked about Bella's decisions since Mark responded, "That's why we're wanting to meet. It seems that she had some concerns that she's wanted to be addressed with in the contract and it requires some discussion amongst all of us before she'll make a final decision." He listened for a minute or two longer before agreeing to whatever Mr. Cullen had told him and then hung up the phone. "Well, we all will be meeting tomorrow at nine sharp at Mr. Cullen's hotel for breakfast to get all of the details hashed out and resolved. Does that meet with everyone else's schedule?" Mark informed everyone and then asked his question at the end as he looked at each of the other two men. Everyone knew there wasn't any sense in expecting Bella to be there as things were still being discussed. Once all of the final details were settled then Bella would make her decision and events would start moving in a forward's direction from that point for whichever way she decided to go.

XXXXXX

Bella slept in late the next morning as she had not a concern whatsoever about the meeting that was to take place today. She knew as sure as the sun came up each morning that her friends who were also her representatives would get everything resolved in her favor. Of this she had no doubt. It never entered her mind to have any doubts about their abilities to accomplish what she was wanting.

So, as she got up she started her day by dressing for a quick run through her neighborhood as a means of trying to stay in shape, but, at the same time giving her mind a rest from the happenings going on in the rest of the world, especially, the things that are concerned with her. She was out for about an hour, but, once she returned home she quickly got a nice relaxing shower which helped to loosen up her muscles.

It was during the time she spent in the kitchen after getting out of the shower and dressed putting together a brunch of a Spanish omelet with a couple of rashers of bacon, toast and some juice that she allowed herself to start thinking again.

As she sat down and began to eat Bella's mind finally allowed itself to think about the offer being made concerning her book. Truth be told, she was very excited about the idea of her book being made into a movie; it was something she hadn't ever considered as she began the book, or, even when it had been submitted for publication. And if she was honest with herself, at least, she was more excited about this turn of events than she had been when she was told that her book had been accepted for publication.

Suddenly, Bella pulled herself up short as she realized that she had an idea for another book. One that felt like it would be fun to write. Although she would be doing it as a fiction it was something that she would be writing about her own experiences as things moved forwards to making this movie.

So, with this plan in mind she quickly cleared away the dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher then she tidied up the kitchen, putting everything away as she straightened things up. From then she moved towards her small office and sat down to begin getting an outline put together for the new story before she forgot the things she wanted included and how she wanted to approach the subject.

After a while Bella became so lost in her project that the rest of the world just seemed to have disappeared and time passed without notice as it ticked away; nothing else existed and she wasn't paying enough attention for it to intrude into her concentration as she was that focused.

XXXXXXX

"I must say that this final requirement is a bit unusual, and I have to admit that I'm more than a little curious about why she would want to have final approval of who would be portraying the major characters of the story, but, I don't see any great difficulty in adding it in." Jasper told Mark, Henry and Carson. As he seemed to be waiting for some kind of response that wasn't forthcoming he continued speaking after his short pause, "Of course, I'll need to run this by our legal department back in Los Angeles, but, as I said I don't see any problems arising from it."

"You can get in touch with me once you have your answers and I'll contact Henry and Carson." Mark told Jasper as the four men begin stirring in their seats in preparation to leave.

"You don't need me in any further discussions as long as the monetary status is as we've stated for the final contract. However, Carson will need to be included when you get together with Ms. Swan for the signing of the contract, that is if she decides to accept it." Henry commented and without further commentary he rose, said goodbye while shaking hands with the three remaining men and left.

"That was rather abrupt, don't you think?" Jasper questioned with some puzzlement sounding in his voice. "He has been very pleasant throughout the whole proceedings until now. What went wrong?"

"Nothing. That's just Henry and the way he is when he feels that his part of the deal is handled and he's no longer needed. Doing his figures is what he's most comfortable with and nothing else since he feels out of his depth in any other situation that has nothing to do with math in some way." Carson explained as he too was getting ready to leave. He turned to Mark and asked, "Will you be getting in touch with Bella to let her know the outcome, or, shall I?"

"I'll deal with it and we'll all be waiting to hear further from you, Jasper." And, with that said Mark also shook hands with the other two men and then he left with Carson leaving Jasper to stand alone watching with a bit of a questioning look which slowly turned to a smile that seemed to grow larger as some stray thought passed through his mind. _I think Edward and Emmett have met their match._ Was his thought as he left the restaurant where they all had met to hash the terms of the contract out.

 **A/N: Well, Bella laid her terms that she wanted in the contract on the table to her representatives. And, Jasper was a bit puzzled by one of the requirements, but, saw nothing that would cause a problem. However, the legal department and then the powers that be must give it their approval before he can get back with Mark and Bella. Do we see any problems in the near future? What do you think Jasper's last thought meant?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

" _I'll deal with it and we'll all be waiting to hear further from you, Jasper." And, with that said Mark also shook hands with the other two men and then he left with Carson leaving Jasper to stand alone watching with a bit of a questioning look which slowly turned to a smile that seemed to grow larger as some stray thought passed through his mind. I think Edward and Emmett have met their match. Was his thought as he left the restaurant where they all had met to hash the terms of the contract out._

 **CHAPTER 6: DEMANDS MADE**

After the three men representing one Isabella Swan's interest had left Jasper went to the front desk to let them know that he would be checking out immediately and required a cab to take him to the airport as he settled his bill. It didn't take him long to get back to his room, pack and return to the lobby to find his cab waiting for him.

During the trip to the airport and in fact, most of the way back to L. A. Jasper carried a slight smile upon his face every time he considered how he was going to tell his brothers of the stipulations Ms. Swan required to be entered into the contract. It seemed the lady had some knowledge of their business and contracts to be able to be definite about such demands.

Of course, he had to agree that the one concerning final approval of actors that would be playing the lead characters were a bit unusual, but, not unheard of.

But, the one concerning the financial end of things was one to raise the eyebrows. It seems Ms. Swan had a very astute financial advisor working for her. And, the fact that she was refusing to give up the copyrights to her book had surprised him. He wasn't sure how Edward was going to deal with that, or, his brother, Emmett, would be dealing with having Ms. Swan having the final say about who he hired or fired for this project. But, Jasper admitted to himself that life was about to take a turn towards the interesting and it was those thoughts that kept the smile on his face.

After his plane landed at LAX, he quickly collected his luggage and headed home. He wanted to take the time to get his thoughts together before facing his two brothers to bring them up to date on the new developments. And, at the same time Jasper considered inviting his mom and dad to the meeting. He thought they would find it quite amusing as he knew it was going to be to watch his brothers' behavior about what he had to say.

So, after a little more thought he made his decision to call his parents to let them know that their presence was going to be necessary at the up and coming meeting at the office. But, first he was going to take a long hot shower to relax his cramped muscles from the flight and all the tension that he had refused, up to that moment, to acknowledge as existing. He realized that he really did need a bit of space to breathe and think about something else other than business.

XXXXXX

Bella had been busy getting all of the ideas she wanted to incorporate into the new book written down. The ideas and the situations were coming into her thoughts in a fast and furious rate. They weren't slowing down in the least and time was passing without her even be aware of it. She never stopped to realize that she hadn't heard a thing back from Mark, Carson or Henry. In fact, a conversation with them was the last thing on her mind since she was into making all of her notes in preparation for starting the new novel.

Even, the name for the book seemed to make itself known, "The Realization of an Unknown Dream", to her without her giving it much thought as to what to call it. It was the title that explained the total adventures of her writer character in the book and the experiences she would encounter along the way of having her book made into a movie.

As Bella was making her notes, deciding on what her main character would and wouldn't want in a contract that would be offered to make her book into a movie a thought came to Bella suddenly of what else needed to be included in her real life contract to make it solid on her side and that would safeguard the story her book was telling. So, she quickly glanced at the clock for the first time that day and realized how much time had passed. She knew that she had to get a hold of Mark immediately so he could relay the information to Carson and then they would have to get the new demand over to this Jasper Cullen. They all had to realize that she would refuse to sign the contract otherwise.

Bella was wanting included in the contract that she would have the right of approval over how the script was written and of any changes that were made during the actual filming; to be able to offer suggestions, even, if they might or might not be used, or, at least, used only in part. By asking for this additional requirement it would insure that her story was presented as it was meant to be told and not as some Hollywood imagined story that was a chopped up mess with some of the scenes rearranged or dropped for whatever reason.

As the phone continued to ring as she was waiting to get an answer from Mark she realized that her spirits had been uplifted because of the starting of her new story, but, also, because she finally felt completely comfortable with the contract with this new stipulation being added. All that needed to be done now for her to want to sign it was for her three requirements to be included in a way that would pass the final once over Carson would give it before her signature.

Bella hadn't realized that she had been so involved with her thoughts that she didn't hear the phone being answered by a harassed sounding Mark who was repeatedly saying hello. Once that percolated through to capture her attention she answered his hello and quickly told him why she was calling.

Hearing that it was his client and then the reason for her called stunned him into silence for a few seconds, and only for a few seconds, before he demanded, "And you couldn't think of this sooner for why?" He snarked back at her. "Do you realize that the man has left and is getting ready to get final approval before getting the contract ready as we all discussed?"

"I'm not worried about all of that. That's what your percentage of my labor is paying you to handle. The fact remains that I did think of this addition and you do have the opportunity to get a hold of him before he can act on what has already been discussed with him. This way he would be able to have everything without any delays and we should be able to wind everything up with no problems." Was her simple reply to Mark's questions.

"May I ask why or how you managed to come up with this last request?"

"Sure. I'm working on a new book idea that came to me and as I was making my notes to organize my material that is when I thought of it." She explains.

"You're starting a new book? That's great. What's it all about?"

"Look, I would love to go over everything with you, but, not at the moment. I want to get a good start before talking to anyone about it. But, since you feel that time is short, don't you think you should stop worrying about my new book idea and make an effort to get a hold of Mr. Cullen?"

"Okay, but, I want to know what is going on with the new book. I need to have enough time to start getting publishers interested and then to pitch the idea to them. Not that I think we'll have any problems, but, I'm not sure if you want to stay with the same publisher or to try a new one." Mark was getting carried away with his enthusiasm about the news Bella had just given him. He was about to continue with his ideas of what might need to be done or what she might want done until Bella stopped him short with a reminder that he still needed to get in touch with Mr. Cullen before it was too late and everyone would be annoyed because of the delay.

"I'll talk to you again once I've gotten a hold of him then Carson because he also needs to be kept in the loop due to this new development." He said just before adding an absentmindedly sounding goodbye to Bella. Mark immediately started making the phones calls that he needed to get done while Bella returned to her notes for the new book.

Mark wasn't so worried about Carson's reaction to what Bella wanted; he was used to her doing things like that. The problem was how was he going to explain this last minute addition to Jasper Cullen and get it to be received in the right frame of mind without having a huge blowup.

XXXXXX

Jasper was talking with his mother on the phone when he got the signal that another call was coming in. He told his mother that he would be calling her right back, but, he needed to take the incoming call since caller ID was showing that the call was coming from a Mark Strollman and he recognized the name as being Ms. Swan's agent.

"Hello, Mr. Strollman, what can I do for you?" Jasper asked in a bit of curious voice as he was wondering what could have prompted Ms. Swan's agent to be calling him this quickly since their departure from one another earlier in the day. He listened as the man on the other end of the line relayed Bella's additional demand with his emotions going from curious to astonishment which turned quickly to absolute amazement at what he was hearing. "You have got to be kidding me, right?"

"No, I'm sorry, Mr. Cullen, but, she definitely isn't joking about this stipulation being included. But, I can assure you of this fact, this is the final one; there's nothing else she wants." Mark hastily told Jasper as a way to reassure him that Bella had made all of the demands that she was going to do.

"Very well. It's a good thing you called me when you did. It'll give me time to get that change incorporated into the contract before I have to face my brothers in the morning to go over the changes and to get them to sign off on everything so I can get the final contract back to you and Mr. Darwell for the final approval from your end.

"When that's done then Ms. Swan can sign the contract and everyone can begin to move ahead with the project." Jasper told Mark, but, made sure that his voice conveyed the finality of his patience by the tone of his words in the last of his statements.

"Thanks, Jasper. Be assured that I do realize that this does put something of a rushed hardship upon you, but, we all want this deal to work out, and to work out in the favor of all parties concerned.

"Make no mistake, I do realize that this is very short notice and that it is a bit upsetting for all concerned, but, just like you have to look out after the interest of your company, so, must I take care of the interest, the best I can, of my client. We both understand that concept.

"But, also, be assured that I did contact you just as quickly as I could once I was told by Bella of the additional requirement she wanted. So, I guess the best thing to do is to wish you a good evening so you can go get everything in readiness for the final approval from your company." And with that Mark did hang up leaving a slightly stunned Jasper because of the firmness that radiated through Mark's handling of Jasper's admonishment because of the unexpected change that Ms. Swan is wanting.

It didn't take him long to pull himself back together as he did call his mother back. They didn't talk for very long as Jasper had already explained in his earlier call to her about both parents needing to be present at the meeting tomorrow morning. And as he got off the phone, took a deep breath, walked over to pick up his briefcase to withdraw the contract and his notes so he could get to work on all of the changes decided upon he did realize that tomorrow was going to be the beginning of the unexpected and that battle lines were going to be drawn.

 **A/N: Bella has made another demand to have included into the contract. Of course, Mark and Jasper are a little put out about the extra addition, but, at least, it was done before too much work was put into the new contract to have it ready for the meeting. Jasper is expecting some kind of reaction from his brothers enough to think that their parents need to be there for it. He really feels like Edward is about to meet his match in one Isabella Swan. How well do you think Edward and Emmett are going to take Bella's demands?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _It didn't take him long to pull himself back together as he did call his mother back. They didn't talk for very long as Jasper had already explained in his earlier call to her about both parents needing to be present at the meeting tomorrow morning. And as he got off the phone, took a deep breath, walked over to pick up his briefcase to withdraw the contract and his notes so he could get to work on all of the changes decided upon he did realize that tomorrow was going to be the beginning of the unexpected and that battle lines were going to be drawn._

 **CHAPTER 7: OPPOSING FORCES**

After working a few hours to get everything just right with wording in the contract and making sure the three conditions requested by Ms. Swan were included as she wanted, Jasper went to bed exhausted, but, definitely ready for the events of the next day. Earlier in the evening he had talked with his mother and requested for both parents to be at the meeting tomorrow when he presented the outcome of the meeting with Ms. Swan and her agents.

Of course, she did question him as to why and he was more than ready to tell her and as he continued explaining all that had transpired she was laughing as much as her son was doing. She had to agree with him that it looked as if one particular young woman was going to teach two of her children a lesson that they wouldn't forget in a very long time. So, she told him that she and his father would be present.

Jasper had his rough draft ready for his secretary to type up and have ready for him before the time for the meeting. He had taken the time before calling it a night to even email the contract over to her at the office with the instructions to get it done first thing, but, not to discuss its contents with anyone at the office.

He was up and around early the next morning in spite of the lateness of the hour of when he had gone to bed. Jasper was looking forward to Edward's and Emmett's reactions to the proposed contract that contained the stipulations that Ms. Swan had insisted upon. A vision of the coming meeting, as he imagined it would go, flashed every so often through his mind as he prepared to get ready to go into his office. The sheer idea of how his brothers were going to react kept bringing a smile of delight and a twinkle of humor would be reflected in his eyes. He did wonder if his mother had mentioned anything to his father and if so, what his reaction would have been to what she would have told him. Then as he walked out the door to get in his car he was curious about how early his parents would be arriving and what excuse they would be giving for showing up to attend the meeting.

From the moment of his arrival Jasper was constantly on the run preparing for the upcoming meeting. Of course, to make matters a bit more stressful, his two brothers had to end up being late getting to the office. His parents had arrived and were made comfortable in Edward's office while everyone was waiting. Carlisle had tried questioning Jasper a bit further about the upcoming discussion that was about to take place, but, all that Jasper would tell him was to wait for the fireworks to begin as he was sure they would.

"Fireworks?" Carlisle questioned with just that one word. "What is that boy up to now? What is he about to dump on his brothers that is going to be unpleasant?" He questioned as he turned to his wife, Esme, since she had been very reluctant to tell him anything other than their presence had been requested by their middle son.

"Like I told you last night, dear, Jasper informed me that he would like for us to be here for this discussion as he felt that our presence would help to keep the meeting toned down and help maintain a quieter side of things.

"That his meeting with Ms. Swan, whose best seller, is the target that Edward and Emmett are wanting to acquire to make into a film is to be the topic they all will be covering. And, it is the outcome of that meeting he will be talking about today to get a final agreement from everyone to proceed with the finalization of the contract." She told him with a bit of humor sounding in her voice. Then she continued, "According to Jasper the contract is one that could cause a bit of conflict from either or both of our other two sons. And, that this Ms. Swan is a very determined woman that seems to know what she does and doesn't want; in other words, she has a mind of her own and isn't afraid to voice her opinion about things.

"And, because of that trait of hers, Jasper thought we would find amusement in being present to watch both Edward's and Emmett's reactions to her stipulations that she had her agent to demand for them to be incorporated into the contract." Esme finished explaining to her husband.

"Oh, so Edward and Emmett are about to butt heads with a female version of themselves; especially, our Edward." He remarked with a bit of a laugh.

"From what Jasper has told me, or, rather, the little bit that he did say, that's exactly what is about to happen in the very near future, if the contract is accepted by everyone."

"Well now everything is starting to make more sense. It's not that Jasper wants us to keep the conversation more civil, exactly, but, that he thought we might enjoy the direction the conversation would take once Edward and Emmett are informed about the young lady's demands.

"Do you happen to know what these explosive demands might be that are likely to set our young men off into orbit?"

"No, but, I'm sure we'll find out soon." Esme told him since the arrival of both missing sons could be heard through the door as they greeted Edward's secretary.

The door opened and the surprise that both men had been informed about a moment ago was apparent on their faces as they came face to face with that unexpected surprise. Both were wondering why their parents were there and what the problem could be. They knew they were late arriving as Jasper was expected to give them a full update as to the new contract he had been sent to get signed so Emmett could get started on lining up the necessary actors and crew for the new project they were eager to get underway.

The interest that had the public all astir about the newest best seller by a newly upcoming author named Isabella Swan was what they wanted their next project to be based upon. Emmett had read the book and brought it to Edward's interest with great excitement about wanting to make the story into a movie while the interest was climbing and appeared not to be abating anytime soon. He had explained to his brother that since the author was new to the game, or, so, he thought, then they should be able to get the rights without too much of a problem and at a reasonable price.

Edward had taken the time to consider his brother's request and had discussed it with his other brother, Jasper, who agreed with their oldest brother, Emmett, up to a point, but, as he pointed out that to have a better chance to acquire the rights they did need to make a reasonable offer that was in line with any other offers they would make. Of course, he did say that since the author wasn't an established one then they would offer a lesser amount than what they would to a well-known and established author that had several published works under their belt as the saying went.

"Mom, Dad, what brings you both out and down here so early in the morning?" Edward asked as he step forward to give Esme a peck on the cheek and to shake his father's hand. Emmett followed the same pattern as did his baby brother before all four persons took a seat and got comfortable. Edward took the seat behind his desk, Emmett took a chair in front and off to one side of the desk while their parents resumed the seats they had taken on the couch that was against the wall nearest to Edward's desk while they waited for Jasper to come in. And that didn't take long to happen, but, until Jasper did arrive polite conversation to appease the curious nature of both men was begun.

"Oh, nothing special." Esme responded before her husband could answer since she knew the boys could read him like a book. "We just wanted to see what projects you boys might have going on. As you know we do from time to time, like to keep a check on how the company's doing since we do have an invested interest both financially and personally in it."

Carlisle looked at his wife, gave her a gentle 'thank you' smile and then with a nod said, "Yeah, what your mother said."

Both men looked at their father and then over to their mother and they observed a sly smirk on her face, but, before they could question the reason for such a look, the door opened and in walked Jasper with a bunch of papers in his hand.

"Damn, brother, you look like you haven't slept. What's going on? Problem with the newbie?" Emmett couldn't help himself after taking one look at the harried appearance of Jasper.

"Nothing that hasn't already been handled. All I need to do is quickly fill you two in on the details and we all sign off on the final contract before I leave to get back to Seattle and get Ms. Swan's signature. After that everything is finalized and the project will be a go." Jasper told them with a quick smile and a sly look, which both of his brothers caught, over to his parents.

But, before either Edward or Emmett could question him about the look Jasper quickly launched into the details of the contract and right on cue the fireworks began. "What in the hell did you say" came from Edward. "Like hell will I have someone messing with who I hired or my script changes" came from Emmett. And without giving the floor to the other brother both men were talking at the same time, saying the same thing, but, with different words and being very forgetful about the presence of the parents that is until Esme stood, walked over to her eldest and youngest, motioned for both of them to lean in towards her at which time she grabbed their earlobe and pinched. Each man yelped and came to a quick silence. "Damn, Mom, that hurts!" they both said together.

"Now, both of you show some respect to the other. I don't see anything in the contract that isn't out of line and it speaks that you are dealing with a well-informed young lady. My advice is sign the contract or go back with Jasper to Seattle and talk with the young woman and her representative to get things handled to everyone's satisfaction."

Jasper looked at his mother, then his father who was wearing a loving smile as he watched his wife deal with their sons and then he glanced at his two brothers to see what expression was on their face. What he saw, the stunned looks of being caught with their hand in the cookie jar, caused a small chuckle which didn't take long to turn into a full blown bout of laughter. Shaking his head, he looked at his two brothers and asked what they wanted to do.

"I will be going back to Seattle with you to deal with this young woman, but, in the meanwhile, Emmett, why don't you see about getting your short listed of who you want for this project." Edward told his brother. "Once I get to Seattle I'll let this little lady know what is unacceptable in a contract."

"Okay, but, remember we need this project because it is an absolute winner for all of us." Emmett told Edward.

"Son, from what I've understood what Jasper told us about the young woman's stipulations, I believe them to be quite reasonable and think that she is very well-informed as what to ask for, as well, as knowing her own mind. You might have a bit of a challenge in trying to bulldoze your will over this person." Carlisle told his son and then prepared to leave as he didn't see where either his or his wife's presence was needed any longer.

 **A/N: Okay, it looks like Edward and Bella are about to butt heads for the first, but, not the last, time. Who is going to win?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

" _Son, from what I've understood what Jasper told us about the young woman's stipulations, I believe them to be quite reasonable and think that she is very well-informed as what to ask for, as well, as knowing her own mind. You might have a bit of a challenge in trying to bulldoze your will over this person." Carlisle told his son and then prepared to leave as he didn't see where or his wife's presence was needed any longer._

 **CHAPTER 8: ATTRACTIONS**

"Okay, Jasper, how soon can we get together with this hard headed individual and wrap up this nonsense?" Edward asked as they walked through the airport to collect the car that Jasper had called ahead to reserve for their use while in Seattle.

"It's going to take a bit more than what you seem to be envisioning." Was the quick comeback from Jasper.

"Why is that? You call the young woman, arrange for us to discuss this ridiculous contract, or, rather, her stipulations and get everything set right then we're on our way back home."

"Keep believing that, brother." Jasper told him with a quick, short chuckle. Out of the corner of his eye, Jasper did see the look that Edward gave him due to his comment, but, nothing else was said by either man.

They continued on to pick up the car and went ahead to the hotel to get checked in and up to their suite before Jasper took a moment to give Mark Strollman a call only to find out that the agent was out of his office until later in the afternoon. However, Jasper did leave a message asking for a call back at the hotel where he was staying and left the room number. After his call was done he was quick to relay the resulting outcome to his brother who wasn't showing any signs of being happy with the delay.

In spite of Edward's less than garrulous attitude he suggested that the two of them take the time to enjoy a bit of sightseeing and then to locate a restaurant they might enjoy having a quiet lunch. "After that I'll try again to get a hold of Mark and see about setting up the meeting so we can get all of this handled."

"Damnit, why can't we just call this Swan woman and get all of this done then we can catch the next flight out of here and be back home by this evening? That way I can make it in time to meet up with the newest honey that is the current rave about town."

"I thought along those same lines when I first came here to take care of this deal, but, found out really quick that she doesn't do business that way. She had no problem telling me what she thought and showed me the door all in nearly the same breath.

"No, little brother, that avenue is definitely closed to us."

"What happened to cause such an occurrence? You never said; only gave a report about what she wanted in the contract and that was it.

"Another thing that I'm having a hard time understanding is why you're going through this Mark person and not talking with her. I mean you did have to talk with her originally to be able to get down what she wanted and didn't want."

"That's where you're wrong. She showed me the door and then the next day I heard from Mark Strollman, who happens to be her agent. From there everything went through him, her financial advisor and her attorney. Those are the only people I have had contact with after the short, and I mean very short, visit with her. Never saw or spoke with her again; everything came through them."

"Then how the hell do you know that all of this is what she wants?"

"Edward, all I'm going to say is that you haven't taken the time to get to know anything about Isabella Swan, or, you wouldn't be asking that question.

"I made the same mistake that you have when I first arrived here and went out to her home. But, after being, more or less, handed my ass I took the time to research the lady. Believe me when I say that she isn't just a newbie as you and Emmett like to phrase it and she does have resources to help her fill in the blanks. Of that I'm sure, but, I don't know exactly what those resources might be, however, she does have them."

"Well, I guess if we're going to be held hostage in this place we might as well explore the area and maybe we might find someone that can help us pass the time while we wait on that woman and her entourage to decide to grace us with their communication or company." Edward uttered sarcastically. He was really upset that someone else was calling the shots and he was having to dance to their tune. His idea of how things should go was with him being in charge of everything concerning him and the business; not the other way around.

So, the two brothers set about checking out Seattle after asking the clerk in the lobby what sights he would recommend for them to see. The clerk mentioned the Space Needle with a view at the top and the revolving restaurant at the same location, the Pike Place Market which held a variety of shops and stalls that seemed to be able to appeal to all sorts of different tastes in people and had a few other suggestions as well of must see for the brothers.

Edward suggested going to the Space Needle restaurant first since it was nearing lunch time. By doing that they would be able to check out the panoramic view that the hotel clerk had recommended and then go down to the restaurant to eat. Jasper agreed to the suggestion, so they wasted no time in setting off for the Space Needle.

Once they had arrived at the viewing area at the top both men had to agree that the view was breathtaking no matter which direction you chose to look, inland or out towards the Sound. But, after covering the entire area and seeing all that could be seen from the top both Edward and Jasper were beginning to feel the true pains of hunger and decided it was time to retreat to the restaurant just below them for some lunch.

There was a short wait before the brothers could be seated and it was as they were passing the other diners that a couple across the restaurant happened to catch Edward's attention, well to be truthful, it was the dark haired beauty that was talking to the man sitting across from her that had really caught his attention. He paused, unconsciously, as he admired the sight he beheld and wondered how he could capture her attention before either she or he left the restaurant. In his opinion, since he was going to be forced to endure a layover waiting for a newbie to make a decision to talk with them this delightful attraction would definitely help to absorb the wasted time of the wait he was being forced to endure.

All of a sudden as if she felt like she was being watched, which in actuality she was, the woman that Edward had been admiring unexpectedly made eye contact with him. He could make out the fact that a slow blush was starting to slowly creep up her neck to her face and it made her even more alluring. And, as if her companion realized that he had lost the woman's attention he turned to see what she was looking at which brought Edward's attention back to where he presently was and to the fact that he had stopped dead in the middle of the restaurant.

Jasper had arrived at their table and turned to ask Edward a question, but, he realized that his brother wasn't there with him. Looking around he saw that Edward had paused and was looking at something across the restaurant. Following the direction of his brother's attention he finally saw what his brother was looking at and what he saw surprised him as he thought he knew the couple that was being observed by Edward. But, it didn't take him long to return to Edward's side and said, "It didn't take you long."

"What?" Edward asked absent mindedly without glancing in his brother's direction while he continued to keep his attention on the dark haired beauty he was interested in getting to know. Then as she moved her head and the light coming through the window next to her shown through to her caught the highlights of her hair just right he thought that her hair color was more mahogany than just a brown.

Jasper grabbed his arm and gave him a small wakeup jerk to get his brother's mind back to the here and now and off of the woman in the corner. And, with being a bit closer to the woman that Edward was riveting his attention on that was when Jasper realized that his first assumption concerning the identity of the woman was correct after all; it was Isabella Swan and the man sitting at the table with her was her agent, Mark Strollman. With that realization Jasper did wonder for a moment or two if he should go over with his brother and speak to Ms. Swan and Mark, but, he decided that it might not be the wisest thing to do since Ms. Swan had made her choice of how she wanted this business to be handled and everything passed through her representatives before reaching her for a decision.

That decision was quickly taken out of his hands as Mark turned once more to what might be holding Bella's attention at times and that was when he spied Jasper standing next to a stranger that had been ogling his client. Upon the recognition Mark spoke a few words to Bella who nodded at whatever he had said and then he rose from his seat to approach Jasper and the man standing next to him.

As he got close enough to Jasper and Edward, Mark reached out his hand towards Jasper to shake hands as he said, "Jasper, it's good to see you again and so soon. Does this mean that you've conferred with your brothers and have all of the necessary paperwork ready for a final review before Bella signs?" Mark stated and inquired in a curious manner.

Mark's question snapped Edward's head in his direction, drawing his full attention away from the beauty still seated in the distance. Jasper started to answer, but, then was interrupted by Edward asking a question.

"Who is this and what paperwork is he talking about Jasper?"

"Mark, let me start by introducing my brother, Edward. Edward, this is Mark Strollman, Ms. Swan's agent and the person I was trying to reach earlier after we had gotten checked into our hotel."

"Mark, it's good to meet with you and I'm looking forward to meeting with your client as well so we can get the contract hashed over and a few minor details ironed out so the contract can be signed and we all can happily move forwards with this deal." Edward told Mark as he shook hands after the introductions had taken place.

"Edward, good to meet you as well, but, there will be no hashing as you so kindly put it. Bella knows what she wants and isn't willing to be deterred." Mark remarked.

"We'll see what happens once we all get together and discuss this. But, in the meantime, it appears that your companion is getting a bit curious about your delay of returning to her side. So, we won't hold you up any longer, but, would appreciate a call later today to arrange a time and place for of us to meet to handle the business at hand.

"Perhaps, dinner this evening at our hotel and then drinks in our suite which would give us the privacy to be able to conduct business and smooth everything out?" Edward offered as he shook hands with Mark once more before turning to move towards the table that he and Jasper had been assigned for their meal.

As he walked away he heard his brother saying his goodbye as well and then he had asked Mark to excuse Edward's behavior. And, with that Jasper had returned to his brother who was waiting at the table Jasper and Edward had been shown. But, as the two brothers were seating and anything could be said between the two of them they saw Mark and the lady with him rise and leave the restaurant.

Edward heaved a sigh of disappointment as he watched his beauty leave without an apparent glance back to him.

 **A/N: Little does Edward know what is going to be coming at him a bit later. Will Mark agree to have dinner with the brothers and have Bella join them? Will sparks fly if Bella does attend that dinner and the meeting that will follow afterwards?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _As he walked away he heard his brother saying his goodbye as well and then he had asked Mark to excuse Edward's behavior. And, with that Jasper had returned to his brother who was waiting at the table Jasper and Edward had been shown. But, as the two brothers were seating and anything could be said between the two of them they saw Mark and the lady with him rise and leave the restaurant._

 _Edward heaved a sigh of disappointment as he watched his beauty leave without an apparent glance back to him._

 **CHAPTER 9: BELLA STANDS FIRM**

As the brothers continued on with their meal without further interruption, Mark Strollman and Bella have left the restaurant and is headed back to Mark's office. He had indicated without saying too much that he needed to talk with her before she continued on with her afternoon plans, whatever they might be. She just looked at him for a long moment before giving a nod and went with him to hear what he had to say.

Once back at his office and they both were seated Mark wasted no time in saying what he had to say. "I'm sure you recognized Jasper Cullen at the restaurant." And here he paused for her reaction, but, all she did was nod, before he continued, "Well, he and the man that was with him, his brother, Edward, are wanting to meet for dinner this evening which would be followed by drinks in the privacy of their suite to discuss the contract."

"Well, I'm sure that you'll have little to discuss since we've made ourselves clear as to what is desired in the contract. I mean you did give all of the information to Jasper Cullen and he was to include everything into the contract for the required signatures." Bella commented while not fully understanding why Mark had wanted her to come back to his office just to tell her this.

"Bella, the brother that was with Jasper is the CEO of the company and he indicated that he had certain reservations about some of the items you were wanting included in the contract. And, if I'm correct about my impression of what the man said then I need to know how you wish for things to be handled." Mark explained to her.

"Mark, I've told you and you've relayed to Mr. Cullen what my terms were and that is that. I won't give on any of the stipulations that I've requested. They aren't unreasonable and are very much in line for what most authors would like, or, have been able to do in the past.

"Now, with that being said I would suggest that you get a hold of Henry and Carson to have them go with you to this dinner and meeting."

"I'm sure that your appearance is expected and from what you're saying at the moment I'm to understand that you won't be attending."

"You're assuming correctly; I have no need to be present since my three representatives are fully capable of handling all of these details and you three know what I want. I won't accept anything less and nothing is to be withdrawn.

"They are the ones that approached us about making my book into a movie; we didn't go to them. Besides that, I'm in a very comfortable place financially that I don't have to be desperate to accept their offer on their terms." So, with that clearly stated Bella rose, said a pleasant goodbye to Mark and left, quietly closing the door behind her.

Mark sat at his desk as he watched one very stubborn, but, confident client, leave his office. He had a feeling that this evening was going to be a very long one and he was mentally preparing himself for a night of failure. But, as such thoughts began to enter his mind he called a halt to that particular path really quick. And he jerked upright from his slouching position when his mind clearly accepted all that Bella had said: it was true that they all had the upper hand over the Cullen's. So, with this new revelation he made the necessary calls he needed to do and then called Jasper's hotel after listening to the message that Jasper had originally left, to accept the invitation.

XXXXX

The two brothers roamed Seattle with Edward being intrigued with Pike's Place Market. He found that the information they had been given back at the hotel was acutely accudrate: Pike's Place Market did hold everything that a person could possibly want from dining places, variety of shops and street vendors of all kinds. The cost of items ranged from average to outrageously high, depending on the shop, the product and the manufacturer.

After a bit Jasper decided that he was ready to return to the hotel since he had had a very late night getting the contract ready for his meeting with his brothers and then add in all of the traveling back and forth. Edward told him to go ahead and he would see everyone later that he wanted to wander around a bit more instead of being cooped up in a hotel suite.

And it was while he was wandering around that Edward thought, from time to time, that he spotted the lady from the restaurant that had caught his interest. So, he decided to play detective for a while as he tried to track the lady. He wanted to find her and maybe, something could happen that would end up filling his time in a much more entertaining way than what was happening at the moment. Although, he did admit to himself that Pike's Place Market was interesting because of the various items that could be found and the difference of humanity that wandered throughout the place looking, purchasing and dining, that could be found all in one place. But, the icing on his cake was being able to see his target and then pretend to be a stalker, never admitting to himself that he was truly a stalker in reality.

As the afternoon passed on Edward realized that he was a failure at playing detective. His tracking skills stunk he told himself with a bit of a chuckle of how he had deluded himself into thinking that he could do what needed to be done to find and approach his target and for becoming so intent upon having one particular woman when in truth he wouldn't have a problem getting different ones all through the day with just the snap of his fingers, if he chose to do so. It was just something about this one that had him wanting none other, but, her.

Edward was realistic enough and vain enough to know that he was irresistible to women, young and old alike, and that he had to do nothing, but, glance at any of them to have one and all throwing themselves at him while vying with each other for his attention. He knew he was popular and considered to be the 'must be' person to invite and have attend any party. Once you have Edward Cullen attending, then you're considered to be part of the 'in' crowd.

So, with all of this knowledge and an inflated opinion about his importance in the world, especially, his world, Edward couldn't explain to himself why he was so interested in this one woman. What was it about her that left him wanting only her and no one else? As of the moment the thought of any other woman left him unmoved, but, the thought of having his target stirred the excitement in his thoughts, emotions and his body, especially, his body.

There was only one other woman right now that was getting under his skin and that was this author, Isabella Swan. But, Edward was convinced that all she had to do was be introduced to him and then once he turned on the charm that she would be putty in his hands. He was confident that once that happened then she would be willing to agree to whatever he wanted to offer her. That was what he believed would happen if he could catch the lady from the restaurant as well.

Time passed with Edward getting no closer, or, even coming near to catching another glimpse of the lady he was trying to get close to. So, stopping at one of the restaurants that boasted an outdoor arrangement, he ordered a drink while he considered his current situation. He hated to admit to failure, it just was in his nature to fail, but, he realized that he had truly failed and it was now time to return to the hotel. At least, his target had accomplished one thing for him, unknowingly, and not exactly what he had hoped, but, she had filled his time and helped it to pass in still an interesting way. In a way that he had never had to do, let along think about doing, in his entire life up until now; to chase after a woman.

XXXXXX

Bella had caught a glimpse of the man that had been with Jasper Cullen at the restaurant and who Mark had told her was the brother as well as the CEO of the company that was wanting to make a movie from her book. She didn't know if he knew who she was, but, from time to time she would see him not far behind her and she did wonder if he might be following her. But, just as quickly as that thought occurred to Bella she smiled at her own stupidity of that thought and dismissed such notion. He was probably there just to visit and perhaps, shop at some of the stores that were located within Pike's Place Market area.

' _Although, he is one damn fine looking piece of the male species.'_ Bella thought to herself. _'Wonder if he's able to please and pleasure a woman?'_ She allowed her thoughts to linger a bit longer on the delicious man she had seen at the restaurant before dismissing all thoughts of him entirely. Bella had made her decisions very clear to Mark and knew that he along with Henry and Carson were quite capable of handling the details of the contract.

After getting everything she had come to buy Bella left and went home without further thought entering her head about the dinner and meeting that would be taking place later in the day. She was getting her home ready for the arrival of her two cousins. They were due to land in about two hours and Bella was going to be at the airport to meet their flight. The two ladies were coming to spend about a week with Bella and to get away from the hustle and bustle of L. A. All three were anxious to catch up with what had been going on in each of their lives since it had been a while since they had all been in one place together.

Bella was aware that Alice was wanting to check out a few places while she was here to see about opening an extension of her business here in Seattle. She had offered to locate a few places for her, but, Alice refused saying that she had to do it on her own since the place had to have a certain feel to it that only she would be able to detect. Bella smiled about that, but, knew what Alice was trying to explain to her. Her cousin had an uncanny sense about things like that.

After making sure that all was in readiness, Bella showered, changed her clothes, grabbed her purse and keys and then headed out the door without a thought one to the upcoming meeting.

XXXXXXX

Edward had gotten back to the hotel in time to be able to shower and change before meeting their guests down in the lobby. Jasper was already dressed and was beginning to pace as he had been waiting for Edward and wondering if he was going to make it back on time.

The two brothers took the elevator down to the lobby and spotted Mark immediately as he stood talking with two other men. Of course, the closer Jasper and Edward had gotten to them Jasper immediately recognized Henry and Carson. A quick hello and introductions conducted to his brother and all five men moved to enjoy dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Edward continued looking around as they all made their way to the restaurant before finally asking, "Where is Ms. Swan?"

"She won't be attending. Her decisions were made very plain to us and we are here to represent her. Once a final agreement has been reached then we'll let her know and she'll sign the contract. However, until that point is reached she felt that her presence wasn't necessary." Mark explained.

"I had expected Ms. Swan to at least have enough interest in her future to put in an appearance to handle her business." Edward said in a rude, commanding manner. His anger at the woman not having the common courtsey to show up for this meeting was becoming evident in his actions as well as his words.

"Mr. Cullen, I assure that there wasn't any need in Ms. Swan's appearance since we are her representatives and do know what her wishes happen to be. But, I would suggest that we leave any further discussions of the matter alone until we've finished a pleasant meal and then have adjourned to a more private location to hash over any and all things that seem to be giving you concern since you had to make the trip to Seattle with your brother to discuss the contract." Carson Darwell firmly suggests to the brothers, especially to Edward.

So, nothing further was commented in regards to any business and the conversation, though slightly stiff, did center around general conversation. And it was as all five men had finished eating and were entering the elevator that Edward happened to glance out into the lobby just in time to see the lady from the restaurant along with two other women appear in the lobby. But, before he could take any sort of action the doors closed and the elevator began going up to their suite.

 **A/N: It seems that Edward's interest has been captured by Bella. She saw Edward and has some thoughts concerning him, but, quickly forgot them as her excitement of having her cousins come to visit. As Bella, Alice and Rosalie enter the hotel and is spotted by Edward, even though, he wasn't able to get to her, will he skip the meeting to try to return to the lobby and introduce himself to Bella?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _So, nothing further was commented in regards to any business and the conversation, though slightly stiff, did center around general conversation. And it was as all five men had finished eating and were entering the elevator that Edward happened to glance out into the lobby just in time to see the lady from the restaurant along with two other women appear in the lobby. But, before he could take any sort of action the doors closed and the elevator began going up to their suite._

 **CHAPTER 10: STANDING RESOLVED**

Jasper noticed his brother's actions as they entered the elevator with Isabella Swan's representatives and all the way through to the moment when the doors closed for them to head for the privacy of their suite. What was surprising was the look of disappointment that he had seen on Edward's face as the door closed on them. _'Why or what was causing this reaction?'_ Jasper was wondering to himself.

After reaching the suite and all five men getting comfortable the room was silent for a brief moment before Edward began, "So, Ms. Swan is determined to allow you three to decide her fate in regards to our making her book into a movie."

"No. No, she has made her position very clear to all of us as to what she wants, not desires, but, wants, concerning this contract. And, make no mistake, Mr. Cullen, she has made clear as well what our actions are to be in regards to anything that is discussed between us." Mark commented very firmly so the two Cullen men would know that they refused to be intimidated in any manner that might be used to try to get the contract bent towards Cullen advantage.

Jasper had remained quiet during this exchange, but, a smile was wanting to burst forth because the fireworks were indeed building to explode the moment Edward **did** meet Isabella Swan. He knew from the time Edward had spotted her, even unknowing who she was, and had set his sights on having a small dalliance with the woman while they were in Seattle taking care of business. But, the best was to come the moment Edward realizes that the woman he wants from the restaurant and Isabella Swan, the annoying author, were one and the same. Oh, the shock of that moment was going to be outstanding, Jasper was convinced and he truly hoped that his parents were around when it did happen.

"Are you telling me that something of this importance that could affect her financially she is content to leave all matters of discussion and decisions in your hands?" Edward asked in amazement that someone was willing to accept any decision concerning their future in outsiders' hands and not to be present to voice any sort of opinion whatsoever.

"You're misunderstanding what has been said Mr. Cullen. Our client has told us her position and she has informed us what is and isn't acceptable to her. Anything outside of those areas won't be considered by any of the three of us."

"Right." Edward dragged that one word out in a very unbelieving manner. Then he continued, "Why don't we start this discussion with you three telling me exactly in what capacity you do represent Ms. Swan? That way I feel that I'll have a better understanding of why she is comfortable with leaving such important decisions in each of your hands.

"And, then once you have stated that information I would appreciate you telling what Ms. Swan is willing to accept and what she is not. That way we'll have a starting point for discussion so we can come to an acceptable compromise that everyone will be able to live with." Edward remarked without making an attempt to hide his sarcastic tone from sounding in his voice and words.

"Mr. Cullen, if you're going to maintain your current attitude then I would say that we have nothing further to discuss." Carson Darwell, Bella's attorney, told the young CEO. And, after voicing his opinion Carson looked over to Mark and Henry to see what their reaction to his statement might be. He was rewarded by the fact that they seemed to be in agreement with him and was showing it by the nodding their heads.

It was at this point Jasper decided it was time to intercede since communication between both sides seemed to be heading down hill at a fast gallop. "Let's all take a deep breath and try to relax. We had a nice companionable dinner together and I believe that we can have a decent business discussion to where we all can come to a mutual understanding.

"I must say that my brother had a good suggestion about our starting point, so, I do suggest that we begin there and move forwards. But, before we start I'd like to have a word, privately, with Edward." So, with those last words being uttered Jasper rose and went over to Edward and grabbed him by the arm.

Both men left the room for a few minutes and that was when Jasper spoke harshly to his brother. "What the hell do you think you're doing? If it has to do with your disappointment of not being able to catch up with a certain lady this afternoon, then I wish you would get your thoughts above the waistline instead of letting them stayed below.

"But, if it has to do with Isabella Swan not being here so you can try to bully her then get the hell over that also.

"Now, let's get back in there and handle business like businessmen instead of you showing your ass." And with that said Jasper turned back towards the door and left Edward standing alone with his mouth slightly ajar since neither of his brothers had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner before now. However, he did concede the truth of what Jasper had said and did reenter the room, so, everyone could get through with the business at hand. It wasn't his problem if the Swan woman didn't feel the need to be present to protect her interest and chose to leave it in the hands of others.

Each of Bella's representatives stated their position as her attorney, financial advisor and as her literary agent. It was then that Mark told the other two men, "Now, as to what is open for discussion isn't quite clear to any of the three of us as Ms. Swan took our advice as well as another person's as to what would best serve her interests. All of that I relayed to Jasper Cullen who was supposed to have incorporated those requests, or, rather, stipulations into the contract.

"Please tell us what is causing you such concern about the contract itself that is giving cause that we are having to rehash the terms, as it seems we're about to do."

"I find that Ms. Swan's requests are a bit out of line with what is normally done with contracts such as this. We do -"

"Mr. Cullen, before we get any further along with this discussion let me save all of us some time and tell you that there will be **NO** compromise in regards to the stipulations that Bella wants." Mark paused there for a moment, but, as he saw that Edward was about to say something he raised his hand to halt any word flow and continued with saying, "Your company approached Ms. Swan, not she you, about wanting to do her book into a movie.

"She doesn't feel the need to change her mind and has given us the instructions that it would be as the contract now stands with all of her stipulation included, or, there will be no deal."

Those last few statements halt any words or movement from both brothers as they were completely stunned into a frozen state. However, Edward was the first one to recover enough to ask, "Did I hear you correctly? She refuses to any changes, or, to any softening on the terms, is that what you're saying?"

"That's it in a nutshell." Mark affirmed what Edward was asking.

"This is ridiculous. You are to call this bullheaded woman immediately and tell her to get her ass down here right this moment." Edward demanded.

But, instead of Mark, Henry or Carson reaching for their phone the three men rose to their feet and began moving towards the door as if of one accord. Once the three reached the door Mark turned to look at Jasper, then Edward, but, back to Jasper his look finally rested as he said, "Once your company is able to decide to accept the current contract then give me a call and we'll see about concluding all of this business. But, until then I would suggest that you see about getting your brother under control and explain to him how business is conducted." With nothing more left to say Bella's representatives left the two stunned men behind as well as a fuming CEO.

XXXXXX

While the meeting was taking place upstairs in the Cullen suite Bella, Rosalie and Alice were downstairs in the restaurant of the hotel having a good time. All three cousins were excited about being able to spend some time together since it had been several months since they had been able to do this. The three cousins were very close and very much interested in what each one was doing, so, they were especially happy to be able to have this time together.

The conversation during dinner remained light, but, would stray from time to time to the more serious of family catching up about other family members and their activities, and then back to the light and mundane once again. And, then when all three were through eating the conversation once more turned to what had been happening in each cousin's more immediate life.

Alice told of how her designs were setting the world of fashion a buzz, Rosalie spoke of the new film she was scheduled to start, but, Rosalie and Alice, both, spoke, "What about you?" They stopped, everyone laughed and then it was Rosalie that asked, "What is happening with you and the Cullen bunch?"

"Well, right now, Jasper Cullen is upstairs with his brother, Edward, meeting with my financial advisor, my attorney and my agent wanting to discuss the contract further. It seems that the stipulations I wanted is causing a bit of a stir with Mr. E. Cullen.

"I'm not sure what it is that's causing the problem, but, it doesn't matter. I took your advice as well as that of my people and told Mark exactly what I would accept and what I wouldn't."

"So, the war of words begins." Alice said with a chuckle.

"It would seem so. Oh, to be a fly on the wall right now to hear what is being said. Edward Cullen doesn't like not getting his way and I would say that with what you're wanting done in the contract is something that he's in conflict with." Rosalie commented.

"I have no idea what he might be objecting about in the contract, but, as I told Mark how the contract reads now, as long as it maintains my demands, then I'm content and will sign it. If there are any changes then he is to reject the contract.

"I did also remind him that it was the Cullen bunch that approached us to make the book into a movie, not the other way around. And, because of that we have the upper hand and the decisions are ours to make, not theirs."

"Smart move, cuz; smart move." Rosalie told Bella with a small smile being seen.

"I agree with Rosalie, it was a smart move, but, stand by your decision, don't give an inch otherwise from what I've heard around the industry he'll eat you alive."

"Oh, very true. He's a player and a very acute businessman that would take advantage of a weak niche he can find in your resolve."

Before any of the three women could say anything else Bella just happened to look towards the restaurant door in enough time to see Henry and Carson walk by closely followed by Mark. Mark did happen to glance into the restaurant and saw Bella sitting there with two other women; one he recognized as Rosalie Hale, his favorite actress. In fact, he had just seen a movie of hers, the _Midnight Run,_ last night.

He said something to Henry and Carson who had doubled back to see what had stopped Mark in his tracks. Words were exchanged by the three men and then all eyes turned to look at Bella. It was as if of one accord that the three entered the restaurant and approached Bella's table. They knew that she needed to be informed of what had transpired in the meeting so she encountered no surprises.

Introductions were made and then Mark informed Bella of the problems that had arisen. She quickly told him, "Don't worry about. As I had told you before, it stands as I want it, or, it's no deal. They came to us, not the other way around. Go home guys and have a nice evening, at least, what's left of it."

 **A/N: Things didn't go so well during the meeting, so, Bella's people left and while they were in the lobby they saw Bella to which they informed her as to the outcome. No one has any idea what is going on between the two brothers that were left in the hotel suite. What do you think Jasper is saying to Edward, or, vice versa?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Introductions were made and then Mark informed Bella of the problems that had arisen. She quickly told him, "Don't worry about. As I had told you before, it stands as I want it, or, it's no deal. They came to us, not the other way around. Go home guys and have a nice evening, at least, what's left of it."_

 **CHAPTER 11: NOT QUICK ENOUGH**

While Bella, Alice and Rosalie were getting the update from Bella's representatives, the shock that Edward and Jasper had been tossed into finally started to wear off and then a blustering storm of pacing and ranting started to pour forth from Edward's mouth. Jasper just sat down and decided to wait until his brother ran out of steam before talking with him. It was seldom that Edward lost his temper to this point, but, when he did his brothers had learnt the hard way to let him get it out of his system then Edward would be too exhausted to do anything else, but, to listen to others.

"Edward, you need to sit down and think this thing through. What Isabella Swan did wasn't out of line. How many times have we dealt with a person's agent before actually getting to talk with them?

"How many times have contracts been discussed and compromises reached before talking with the person involved?

"This situation is really no different." Jasper concluded in a calm voice and then remained silent as he watched Edward finally come over to a chair and fall into it with a great deal of aggravation showing in his body movements.

As the silence in the room remained, Jasper continued to quietly watch his brother and the fleeting emotions that would cross his face from time to time. He could tell that Edward was considering and weighing the words Jasper had stated; trying to find fault in the logic of what he had been reminded.

"I guess you're right about the concept, but, never have we had to deal with anyone that wasn't willing to at least discuss the situation to see if a compromise could be reached to make both sides happy." Edward grudgingly agreed with his brother. Then added, "Maybe, we can teach this Ms. Swan a lesson by appearing to be walking away from the proposal. Let her think that we're withdrawing our offer and had a change of mind about the whole thing."

"Edward, you're forgetting something."

"What?" He snapped.

"There was a discussion."

"Yeah, sure there was." He responded sarcastically before asking, "Did you ever talk with her?"

"Actually, I did, but, it didn't last very long. It seems that at the time I had shown up she had just returned from a book tour and was worn out. She, more or less, kicked me out the door with the information to contact her agent.

"Before I had a chance to get a hold of Mark, she had contacted him and informed him of my visit and had him to contact me. By that time she had instructed all of her representatives to be available so they each could advise her as to what would be of benefit and what wouldn't. She handled things in the proper manner.

"Of course, when I left to return to L. A. I was under the impression that everything was in place. However, once I had gotten home Mark called to tell me about another addition that Ms. Swan wanted in the contract and that all of her representatives were in agreement with her."

"But, back to what I said in the beginning: we never had a discussion with her. Everything was done through her representatives only." Was Edward's immediate comeback.

"Why are you being so hardheaded about this? Once again, nothing was done that we haven't done before." And, with that said Jasper stood and shook his head as he walked out of the room leaving Edward behind. A few minutes later he reappeared only to tell his brother that he was going to get a breath of air; with that said he walked out of the suite and made his way to the elevator.

He rode the elevator down to the lobby and as he stepped off with the doors closing behind him, Jasper came to a sudden stop as he had no idea of where he wanted to go. Finally, he decided to go to the hotel bar and have a quiet drink in an effort to forget about his brother and business for a while.

As he was sitting there waiting to receive his second drink he happened to glance out into the lobby and what he saw seemed to force all of the air out of his lungs. For there stood the woman of his dreams, his future wife and the mother of his children. She was a tiny thing with black hair seeming to spike all around her face, but, it looked fashionable on her where it would have been laughable on anyone else. She had features that were like that of a fairy princess.

So concentrated was his attention centered on the one woman he wanted that Jasper never noticed the rest of the people around her. Rosalie, Bella and Mark were all there as well, but, they weren't the center of his attention: only the tiny fairy, the little pixie with the adorable face and crazy looking hair.

XXXXXX

After Jasper had left the suite in a bit of undisguised huff, Edward continued to sit and wonder what he had said that was incorrect that could have pissed his brother off to the extent that he was. Surely, Jasper could understand the position that Edward was stating. Or, at least, understand why Edward was taking the stand that he was. It was true that usually the terms were discussed and agreed upon between the agent and the company, but, for some reason this woman, although he wasn't familiar with her, was getting to him and getting under his skin.

As he reached this point in his thoughts the picture of the woman he had seen at the Space Needle restaurant flashed into his mind. And, as he brought her fully into mind's view his body began to react to the various thoughts of what he was envisioning them doing together. Then his sense of disappointment set in because he had failed to get her. She had appeared in and out of his view all afternoon and then had shown up just as the elevator doors were closing for him, Jasper and the Swan representatives were heading up to have what was supposed to have been a business discussion. Boy, was that a joke; there had been no discussion, they allowed no room for compromise and flatly stated that the contract was to stand as it was or no deal.

As Edward's thoughts turn to how he had missed his last chance to capture his objective he feels his body deflated response to the bullheadedness of one woman. In his mind, he was picturing the stubborn female as a frumpishly dressed individual with a nerdy attitude and horn rim glasses settling halfway down her nose. And, then maybe, just maybe, she might have a cat or a house full of the horrible creatures. Having that picture enter his mind caused him to give a shake of the head as he shuddered at just the very idea of encountering such a person. No wonder her representatives were so unbending; she had chosen them well since they were the same as she is.

Shaking his head once more he rose and made his way to the wet bar, poured himself a drink and then carried it with him as he made his way to his room to take a hot shower thinking that that might help him to relax and maybe, get things back into perspective. He knew that he desperately needed to get things back on track since Emmett was demanding to make this particular book into a movie.

XXXXXX

Mark said his goodbyes as the three women were trying to decide whether to call it a night and head home or to enter the bar for a final nightcap for the night. It was at that moment that Alice turns and her eyes raked around the section of the bar that she could see, but, she did take a quick glance into the bar. She made brief eye contact with Jasper as her glance was sweeping across the bar and moving onwards, but, did quickly bring her gaze back to him and they locked eyes. Both, unknowingly, began walking towards each other without saying a word to anyone.

Bella and Rosalie stood back watching the action of the man and woman with a delighted smile appearing on each of their faces. Both women were happy watching what seemed to be their cousin's 'enchanted moment' as she used to always call it. Alice, since an early age, always spouted about how she would look across a 'crowded room' and know the instant their eyes met that she had found the one she was meant to be with forever.

Of course, Bella and Rosalie believed her when they were all young children, but, as they grew up they would laugh and tease Alice when she would continue with that stance. But, not wanting to hurt their cousin's feelings when she would continue with that statement, both women would smile and tell her that they hoped it did indeed happen as she wished.

So, now to see it happening both women were surprised, but, pleased that things were going exactly as Alice had maintained over the years. And, as the man drew closer Bella recognized him as Jasper Cullen; the man that first approached her about making her book into a movie.

"Rosalie, that's Jasper Cullen. He's the man that first came by the house about making my book into a movie."

"I thought that I recognized him, but, wasn't sure. The only times I've seen him has been a quick appearance here or there on a movie set or at a party that we both might be attending at the same time."

"Have you met his brothers?" Bella asked and saw that Rosalie shook her head no. "Well, I can tell you that Edward Cullen seems to be a bit of a playboy and very determined to have things his way." She paused for a moment and then continued, "But, that's what you told me when I first discussed the offer of the movie contract with both you and Alice."

"No, I can't honestly say that I've met his brothers, and the only information that I have concerning them is what I told you before. Although, I wouldn't mind doing a movie under Emmett Cullen's direction since he is considered to be one of the best in his field."

Each looked once more over at Alice to see that she and Jasper Cullen had finally made contact and had seemingly forgotten about anyone else. It was at that point that Bella suggested that they go on home without Alice. "She might stay occupied for the rest of the night from the way things are looking from this view." Bella said with a bit of a laugh.

Rosalie took a last glance in Alice's direction and then commented, "I think you might be right."

So, with that said the two women left to get a cab home, but, not before Bella quickly sent a text to Alice's phone.

XXXXXX

Edward had taken his shower and had finished still another drink before realizing that the walls were closing in on him; he had to get the hell out of the suite like Jasper had done. Then the thought hit him that maybe his beauty was still downstairs and he might be able to approach her. And, it was that final thought that spurred his steps from normal to that of hurry. He almost sprinted to the elevator so he could get down to the lobby quickly.

We all know how things happen when you're in a hurry; the faster you want to go it seems the slower time goes around you like an elevator moving up or down. But, it did arrive and he rushed into it to start pushing the lobby button, however, as it began its decent Edward swore that the damn thing hit every floor on the way down to allow other people to get on it.

But, finally he arrived into the lobby to see his girl turning to walk out the door with another woman; someone he thought he recognized. He thought that he was seeing Rosalie Hale leaving with his girl. And, as he was considering that bit of information the two women had stepped out to enter a cab that the doorman had wait for them.

He moved quickly, but, once more missed out by just a few nanoseconds as he watched the cab drive away.

 **A/N: Edward missed out once again, but, it looks as if Alice and Jasper hooked up. How is Edward going to handle the situation concerning the contract?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _He moved quickly, but, once more missed out by just a few nanoseconds as he watched the cab drive away._

 **CHAPTER 12: MEETING AT LAST**

Bella was impatiently waiting for Edward Cullen to get his head out of his ass and show up for their meeting. She and Mark had arrived ten minutes early and now it was an hour later and still no sign of Edward Cullen. How the hell could someone run a business this way and make it into such a success as he had done.

She and Mark had arrived the day before and had been met at the airport by Rosalie who dropped Mark off at the hotel and then both she and Bella had continued on to Rose's home. But, Rose was met with a message waiting for her to do a return audition for a part that she was wanting to do. It was a chance to work with Emmett Cullen; this was the director that Rosalie had mentioned a couple of weeks ago when she and Alice had been visiting in Seattle.

It seemed that Alice and Jasper were getting closer and really into each other, but, not to the extent that Jasper was neglecting his job responsibilities. At first, while Jasper and Edward were in Seattle to try to get compromises on the contract and things didn't go exactly as Edward had wanted he tried playing the 'we've changed our mind' card which resounded back in his face, by Bella telling Mark to relay back to the Cullen's that that was fine by her. "Tell them that we aren't desperate enough to accept just any of their handouts." And, Mark did just that.

After that little tidbit had been delivered, Edward left Seattle in a huff refusing to have anything else to do with the whole situation. He told Jasper to deal with it, but, to get it done and over with so they all could move on. "That way Emmett will stay the hell off of my back." He yelled at Jasper just before walking out of the door and slamming it behind him.

Jasper did remain behind for two reasons; one, to get to know Alice better since he wasn't aware as yet that she lived in L. A. and two, to talk with Mark and, hopefully, Bella about the whole contract deal, so, everyone could live in peace. And, meet they did, over lunch, which led to Jasper learning the reasoning behind Bella's conditions.

With knowing this bit of information, he knew that she wasn't going to give on any points. She stated once more, "I won't lie about it, I would like to see my characters coming to life upon the big scene, but, at this point, I'm not desperate enough for it to happen. Financially, I'm comfortable, so, I don't have to accept any offers if I choose not to.

"You have to remember, Mr. Cullen, you approached me and my agents about doing the book into a movie, not the other way around. So, I would say that the advantage is with myself and not you or your company.

"You can tell your brother that I won't be browbeaten by him or anyone else. And, because of my financial situation I can pick and choose who I want to do business with and how I want to conduct that business. So, he can go piss up a rope for all I give a good damn because from what I can see, thus far, his behavior is that of a spoilt, petulant child who's unhappy for not getting his own way."

Jasper had listened to all that Bella had to say, agreed with her and asked her to give him time to get back with her. She and Mark accepted that and all had left the luncheon feeling as if progress had been made. And, as they were leaving Jasper happened to mention that he had been trying to get a hold of Alice that morning, but, she wasn't answering her phone.

"Alice and Rosalie have returned home. I dropped them over at the airport just before we met for lunch and our meeting. Chances are that the plane is now in the air and she's not able to answer." Bella informed him. She wasn't familiar with what Alice had or hadn't told Jasper about herself as yet since she pulled a disappearing act to spend time with Jasper.

It was surprising that Alice hadn't told him where she lived and just allowed the man to assume that she was a Seattle gal. Bella assumed that Alice was planning to get around to telling him, but, she had received an emergency call that required for her to return to L. A. immediately and Rosalie decided to return with her. Bella was sad to see them go, but, they had their own businesses that needed to be handled the same as she did; besides, they also had their own lives to live as well.

It was also possible that Alice wanted to see how serious Jasper Cullen might be about their relationship, by not telling him how to find her, other than here in Seattle. To see if he would make any attempt to locate her once she left to return home.

However, she did know that Alice had tried to call Jasper several times before having to leave to catch her plane, but, received no answer. And, Bella offered that information to him and watched as he checked his phone; that was when he saw that he had it on silence. But, he did see that he had voice messages. He smiled, thanked Bella and left while listening to his messages.

But, as Bella and Mark were turning away they observed Jasper coming to a complete halt and then he turned back towards them. Bella saw the puzzled expression on his face. "She lives in L. A. Jasper the same as you." Bella told him, saw him nod, smile and then he turned around once more to leave, only to hesitate again.

"I'll get back to you as soon as I can and we'll all meet in L. A. to get the contracts signed and then we all can move forward from there to get this project off the ground finally." And, with that said he did leave with his phone held once more to his ear and a smile that was becoming brighter with each message he listened to.

Jasper was as good as his word and did get back to Bella and Mark within a few days of his leaving Seattle. He had returned to L. A. to have a talk with Emmett and his parents, who, although, not involved in the day to day running of the company, did have a vested interest, silent partners like, in the company and did have a say in helping to decide impossible situations, about the contract.

Emmett demanded that the contract be signed by all concerned so he could get on with the making of the movie he wanted to make. He was wrapping up his current project and was wanting this one to be his next. As he explained to Jasper he was already holding auditions for some of the parts. "This needs to be finished!" He emphasized with the banging of his fist upon the table where everyone, but, Edward, was seated.

"Jasper, dear, call Isabella Swan and tell her that the offer is accepted as she wants it. Invite her to come to L. A. for the signing and, so, we all can meet face to face for the signing."

"Mom, why face to face?" Emmett asked a bit puzzled by the sly smile that was seen upon his mother's face.

"Because from what Jasper has told us concerning the trip Edward took with him to Seattle and the activities that occurred, I would say that our Edward is in for a very amusing, if not unsettling, rude awakening because of this young woman. She seems determined to go the way that feels the most comfortable for her and isn't afraid to stand by her decisions. Add to that she was wise enough to obtain advisors in the areas she needed in order to aid her in making wise choices and decisions as to which way to go. Then add to the fact that she doesn't hesitate to vocalize her needs, wants, desires, or beliefs. That is why I say our Edward is in for a very big surprise. Yes, a very big surprise indeed."

So, Jasper did as promised and called Mark, he had learnt his lesson about going to Bella first, to inform him about the pending meeting between all parties in L. A. A date that was convenient for all persons involved was arranged, and, now everyone is waiting for Edward Cullen, CEO of the company, to decide that he's ready to show up so everyone could get down to work.

Upon their arrival at the offices, Jasper had been waiting, as well as his parents, to be able to conduct the appropriate introductions and get the meeting started. Both Bella and Mark had been made to feel welcome and the conversation had flowed without stress or awkwardness when suddenly Jasper and his parents had been called away for some emergency which required their help.

It turned out that Esme Cullen was a renown director who had retired a few years ago while her husband, Carlisle, was a doctor and semi-retired. And it was that a medical emergency had arisen that his services were needed, but, with Jasper being an officer of the company and Esme, possibly needed to assist her husband, went to aid in what capacity they might be needed, that is why Bella and Mark found themselves sitting alone in an office, with no one other than the secretary, waiting.

Hearing the door to the office open all three occupants of the room look to see who is about to enter, but, their expectant expressions soon turn to disappointment since it's only Jasper returning. As he looks around his facial features become set into a stern looking mask and then he says, "I guess Edward is still held up a bit, but, why don't we go down to the café that down on the ground floor for a bit of refreshments while we're waiting for him to arrive.

"Mom and Dad are just about through with our small emergency and the casualty is now being loaded into an ambulance to be on their way to the hospital. I'll send them a quick text and have them meet us there."

Both Bella and Mark agree that it would be better than being stuck sitting with nothing to do, so, they all leave, but, not before Jasper tells the secretary to call him immediately that his brother arrives into the office. And, on the way out Jasper shows the couple around the different departments they have housed in the building.

Once they arrived at the café and were seated, Jasper did send off a quick text to his parents and was once more about to apologize for the absence of his brother, but, never got the chance because Bella asked, "What was the emergency? How serious could the situation have been that would have demanded a trip to the emergency room in an ambulance?" She asked in a very curious voice, but, yet, had sympathy that was reflected in her eyes for the unknown person that had experienced the need for medical treatment.

"It was serious, but, at the same time not really." Jasper answered with a quick chuckle and observed the quizzical expressions on the two faces that were seated across from him. "One of Emmett's staff members in casting went into early labor. So, as you see, it was serious, but, not really serious at the same time."

"Did she deliver before going or not? Didn't she have any early contractions to give her warning of problems or complications of any kind?"

"From what I understand there wasn't any warning whatsoever. Her water broke and her labor began. And, yeah, Dad delivered a baby girl to the happy mother.

"Of course, from what was said the baby being premature it will have to spend some time in the NCIU for a bit, but, Dad did say that everything looked just fine from what he could determine."

And, just as Bella was about to comment the arrival of Dr. and Mrs. Cullen forestalled her asking any further questions. And the couple took the empty seats as the waitress came over to take everyone's orders. But, once that was handled Esme was quick to comment on her still missing son. "Bella, honey, I'm so sorry about this mix up and all. I can only surmise that he's in a meeting which is holding him up to this extent." Esme offered the excuse. And, with that said no further excuse was uttered. In fact, Edward's nonappearance was left out of further conversation amongst all parties present.

Time came for everyone to return to the offices in hope that Edward had wandered in. Carlisle, Esme and Jasper, all, were fuming about Edward's behavior, but, were putting up a pleasant and united front to try to keep Bella and Mark comfortable for business to be handled.

And, as they all needed the head office Bella excused herself so she could go freshen up a bit. But, as she was coming out of the restroom door she ran into a solid wall of flesh. Swiftly looking up to see who she had ran into and about to offer an apology, the words froze in her mind as they never passed her lips; she was looking into the deepest set of green eyes that she had ever beheld. But, just as quickly as the thought about his eyes passed through her mind so did recognition of the man she had ran into: the missing CEO, Edward Cullen.

However, before she could say anything scathing to him, he recognized her as well and with a cocky smirk turning up one corner of his mouth, he comments, "Well, hello, what a very pleasant surprise, so, we finally get to meet. You're the one I saw in Seattle not long ago and spent a hell of a lot of time trying to get close enough for us to get to know each other better, if you know what I mean."

Bella reacts very quickly to his words by slapping the shit out of him without hesitation before turning and going back into the lady's restroom. She leans against the closed door trying to catch her breath as she heard angry mumblings fading as his footsteps were moving further down the hallway. And, it was in that instant, as his words fully registered with her, that she realized he was the one that she had seen stalking her from time to time in Pike's Place Market. Finally, as her anger, nerves and breathing return to normal she returns to the CEO's office to finish with this asshole and get the hell away from him.

She enters the outer office to find everyone missing except for the secretary who informs Bella that they are awaiting her presence in Mr. Cullen's office and motions for her to go on in. Bella doesn't hesitate in opening the door and coming face to face with the asshole once more.

Edward is standing close to the door with his back turned towards it while talking with the others that are in the room with him. As he hears the door open knowing that it must be the missing author, he turns while he is snarkly commenting, "It's about time you decide to grace us with your presence." And, once again without hesitation, Bella slaps the hell out of his face again.

 **A/N: Now Edward and Bella meet. I must say that it was some kind of meeting. How do you think the others are reacting to what happened between Edward and Bella?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Edward is standing close to the door with his back turned towards its while talking with the others that are in the room with him. As he hears the door open knowing that it must be the missing author, he turns while he is snarkly commenting, "It's about time you decide to grace us with your presence." And, once again without hesitation, Bella slaps the hell out of his face again._

 **CHAPTER 13: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH**

As the sound fades, Edward's shocked face, Bella's fury and contempt showing on her face and the silence of the rest of the occupants of the office is interrupted by the opening of the office door to admit the largest man that Bella had ever seen. He reminded her of the Hulk, the green giant that won the hearts of millions as he faced his enemies in the movies. She took a step back and bent her neck to look up at him in awe that was tinged with a bit of fear until he flashed a brilliant smile with dimples showing which gave him a teddy bear appearance and then he swiped her up into a bear hug.

This sudden interruption released the paused action of all of the others gathered which led to everyone, but, three to burst out laughing so hard they were trying to decide whether to hold their sides or their jaws due to the pain they were feeling from laughing so hard. Edward was furious because the creature that was still dangling in his brother's arms had dared to lay hands on him, not once, but, twice, for no reason that he could understand. Mark wasn't sure how he should be reacting due to all that he had witnessed and not being aware of the interaction that had taken place between Edward and Bella before she entered the office, but, then none of the others had had time to have that awareness as well. All that any of them knew is that Bella Swan had reacted to Edward's rudeness with a firm hand.

Bella was trying to relax in the arms of the hulking teddy bear that was squeezing her so tightly that she was starting to have a hard time trying to catch her breath. "Pl- ple—you—nee—" Bella was trying desperately to tell the 'hulk' to let her go so she could breathe again. However, the message wasn't being understood until Jasper had gained control enough of himself to tell his big brother to put her down. "Damn, Emmett, can't you see that she can't breathe."

Quickly releasing Bella, Emmett immediately introduced himself, not giving anyone else a chance to do so. "You're Isabella Swan, author of GOING FOR THE RAINBOWS, right? I'm so glad you're here and going to sign the contract. Now, I can really get started on getting my project off the ground.

"I've been holding auditions for the characters and I'm happy with the ones I've chosen so far. But, with this mess being settled things can begin to move…"

Emmett was brought up short by Bella raising her hand and then asking, "Do you realize that you might be getting a head of yourself? I do have the right to approve which actors will be portraying the main characters. So, until I sign the contract and then see who you've chosen your 'project' isn't going anywhere."

"I don't have a problem with that, little lady." Was Emmett's simple response.

"Well, I still have a problem with letting a nobody demand what will and will not be included in a contract that we might be doing. I mean, after all, she should be happy that we're even considering turning her book into a movie, that may or may not make us money." Edward grouched to everyone present in the office.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, I raised you better than that." Esme quickly remarked as she walked over to her son and reached up grabbing him by his ear, giving it a slight twist as she began walking out of the office door. Edward gave a small squawk, but, had no choice, but, to walk along with her. Where they were going, no one knew, but, once more all present were surprised at such an action being taken by Esme Cullen and watching Carlisle Cullen follow behind both his wife and son.

The silence was broken by Emmett commenting, "He should have known better than to act like that with Mom around. She doesn't tolerate such behavior and Dad doesn't either. I sure wouldn't want to be in his shoes at the moment."

"You can say that again. He had been told after his return from Seattle that he needed to get his attitude straight. We all thought that he had done so, but, even if he hadn't, he's never acted like this with the parents around to hear or see." Jasper remarked. Then Jasper looked over at Bella, cocking his head a little to one side for a moment before asking Bella, "I have a feeling that something more, than what we all witnessed, was going on in here. Would you care to share?"

"No, I don't care to share since it's nothing I can't handle and isn't really anyone's business, but, mine. Thanks for asking, but, it really is best left unsaid and remaining between Mr. Cullen and myself."

So, with that said it seemed that the subject was closed, at least, for now. However, Bella knew in her heart of hearts, that Edward Cullen was going to be a big problem in more ways than one. She wasn't immune to his good looks and when he had caught her as she had bumped into him outside of the restroom, she had felt an electric charge shooting through her entire system. It was like nothing she had ever felt before and wasn't sure what it meant, even now, but, she was wise enough to realize that big trouble was right around the corner trying to reach out and grab her. But, she did recognize the danger signals that was flashing when she was close to, or, even thought about him and what his touch did to her.

"Mark, why don't we leave and when Mr. Edward Cullen can make the time to sign the contract then Jasper can bring it to us and I'll sign it then once I'm sure no changes have been made to what I've agreed to sign."

"But,-" Emmett and Jasper both began at the same time and stopped at the same time to wait for the other brother to say what he had tried to say.

"I agree with Bella. This has been a waste of everyone's time all because of one individual. You can catch up with us once your CEO decides to behave like a CEO." Mark offered his own opinion which was in agreement with Bella.

"Wait! Before you leave explain one thing to me. Why did you make the comment about any possible changes?"

"Because from what I've observed I wouldn't put it past your brother to knowingly have the contract changed if I went ahead and signed it now before adding his signature. Then I would be locked into an agreement that wasn't what I had originally agreed to.

"That's why I made my statement. However, if he does sign it and one of you bring it over for my signature then I'd have a chance to make sure the originally agreed to contract is still intact before I sign it."

Neither of the two brothers knew what to say to her reasoning because they knew that with the way Edward was behaving at the moment that her fears were a very real possibility. Never had any of them encountered such a situation as what Edward was creating at the moment.

"Ms. Swan, I can tell you now that the conditions that you wanted in the contract will stay in the contract. I'll not let my brother ruin what could be one of the best movies that I've ever made.

"Your book carries such loving emotion and life lessons that could bring forth an Oscar on so many levels. So, no, I can promise you that my brother will not change anything in the contract cause I refuse to allow him to take this opportunity away from this company or me."

"I appreciate your sentiment and your confidence in my book, but, the fact remains that your brother has the final 'say so' concerning this deal. But, he had better remember that I also have a very strong say about things as well." And, with that said Bella looked to Mark and motioned that it was time for them to leave. She paused long enough at the door to have one last thing to say and that was, "Jasper, get in touch with Mark once things have finally been hashed out here. I won't wait forever and I won't continue to accept being jerked around by an asshat jackass either." Then she left, following behind Mark out.

XXXXXX

"You didn't!" Both Rosalie and Alice squealed together as they were trying to get some control of their laughter. They were completely captivated by Bella's description of the meeting that was supposed to have taken place earlier that day.

"He was really that much of an ass?" Rosalie asked.

"Yup." Was the only respond Bella gave them and then they all three cracked up again with laughter.

Once they were able to get better control of themselves the topics changed and the three cousins spent time talking about what had been happening in the fashion world where Alice was concerned and then about Rosalie's audition with the part that she was wanting to have.

But, before too many details from either one could be revealed Alice was quick to inform Rosalie, "You and I might be working together if everything works out as I hope."

"What in the hell are you talking about our hyper pixie?" Rosalie jokingly asked.

"I received a call from the designing department, shortly after we got back from Seattle. asking if I would be willing to submit a few samples along with a portfolio of past designs I'd done on prior films.

"It was explained that the director, your Emmett Cullen, was wanting to use nothing less than the best for an upcoming project. So, evidently, they consider me to be among the best, and, I honestly think that it might be the same one you were auditioning for a part."

"That would be absolutely great if we were connected to the same project. But, do you know which one? Three different ones have been floating around on the grapevine." Rosalie enquired.

"Not, sure. I was just told to submit generalized designs for a modern day story as well as some period pieces."

"That sounds like what happened with my audition. There were two different parts that I had to read for with one being modern day and the other being of an earlier time. But, the most disappointing part was that Emmett Cullen wasn't there; it was his casting chief.

"I've seen pictures of this man, but, have never been able to get close enough to him to touch or speak. It can be very frustrating. He's so damn yummy, if you know what I mean."

The three continued talking into the night as they were at Rosalie's and had no idea what the next day was going to bring forth to any of them.

XXXXXX

Esme and Carlisle had torn into Edward with no holds barred to let him know that they were disappointed in his behavior and rudeness. It was not acceptable and was very humiliating for everyone that had been witness to it. "You had better straighten yourself up, quick, or, I would make your life a living hell until you do. Am I understood, young man?" Esme told him without the slightest rise in her tone of voice.

Edward looked at his mother and gave her a quick nod of the head then he looked at his dad. Carlisle hadn't said one word, but, his facial features spoke volumes. He knew that he had screwed up and he really had no excuse that could be offered that would make things any better.

Somehow, this one woman, even before he had seen her, had gotten under his skin. He had no idea why or how to explain it, but, it just happened.

Everyone had returned to Edward's office and was very surprised to find that Bella and her agent had left. Jasper shared what Bella had said about the contract which caused all eyes to turn in Edward's direction. But, only one person had anything at that point to say and did say, "Edward, you will sign that contract as it is and stop all of the bull. I want this project and you will not stand in my way." Emmett told his brother in a tone that was very seldom heard from him.

Emmett was a very happy go lucky sort of person and saw the good in everyone, but, when he spoke in the manner that had just happened it was safest to listen and heed the warning. So, Edward was seen trying to be subtle in his reactions to what his brother was saying as he gave a quick, jerky type of nod.

 **A/N: Edward acted out one too many times and made the mistake of doing it in front of his parents. Which project do you think Alice and Rosalie are about to go to work on? Will Edward sign the contract so it can be delivered to Bella with no changes?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Emmett was a very happy go lucky sort of person and saw the good in everyone, but, when he spoke in the manner that had just happened it was safest to listen and heed the warning. So, Edward was seen trying to be subtle in his reactions to what his brother was saying as he gave a quick, jerky type of nod._

 **CHAPTER 14: WHO WILL WIN**

It bugged Edward to no end to have to give in to someone else dictating terms to him instead of it being the other way around. What had made their company one of the fastest growing and financially secure was the fact that he was in control, but, never the other way around. Oh, he didn't cheat people, but, he believed that his company should be the one that benefitted the most from an agreement.

But, with this author, Edward felt that he had something to prove since she felt that she had more control over things, for a novice, than he did. However, quicker than he could blink an eye this strange female that seemed to have some kind of hold on him, managed to flip the tables on him. Edward no longer had control of anything and seemed to be stepping a foot wrong whichever way he turned.

Edward acknowledged that he enjoyed the company of a beautiful woman; a woman that knew her place and that place was to pleasure him, except if he had some social function that required a date of sorts, then he would make sure the woman was intelligent enough to be associated with him without being an embarrassment to him, the family or the company. In fact, he didn't mind putting forth a bit of effort to get whichever woman caught his eye at the time, like in Seattle, but, most of the time that wasn't necessary; women flocked to him vying with each other to be the one that gained his attention.

But, the rare moment arrived to where he had to work some to gain the attention of the unknown woman in Seattle and failed. Then he comes across her on other occasions only to fail to get close enough to her, but, it doesn't seem to get him down too much; he looks at it as it's just one of those things that wasn't meant to be.

Finally, he encounters the same woman in the hallway outside his office and assumes that fate had a hand in bringing about an end to his tormented dreams of this beauty by presenting her to him at last, so, he makes his intentions known to the lady in question. However, that seems to have come back to bite him in the ass, not once, but, twice, since that particular woman turned out to be the elusive author that has been creating all sorts of problems for him. Problems that he refused to admit, even to himself, were all created due to his own attitude and ideas of his own importance and that of his family's when compared to others surrounding them.

Realizing that he was in a no-win situation, Edward felt that it was better to keep his mouth shut for the moment, especially, since his parents were still in the room. He was too late to stop Ms. Swan and her agent from leaving, but, he would find a way to appease his family over all of this fiasco where that woman, as he quickly called Bella in his mind, was concerned. He was going to be very contrite and try to lull the family into a false sense of everything being resolved until he could get Isabella Swan in a one to one face off with him to get her to agree to his conditions where the contract is concerned.

Not realizing that he had gotten lost in his own thoughts, Edward was suddenly jerked back to the present by Emmett and his demand for the contract to be signed 'as is' immediately while the whole family was present. So, more or less, giving himself a mental shaking to bring all of his focus back to the current situation Edward was about to reply when his interoffice phone rang. Reaching out to answer he replied, "Tell them to give me a few minutes and then I'll be right with them."

"Edward, don't play games. I want this project to begin immediately and you will sign the contract as it stands now. Don't play games and lose this chance for me, for us." Emmett concluded and then turned to leave the office.

Jasper followed suite, but, not before giving his brother the evil eye as if to say, " _screw this up and your head will be served to you by all of us_." However, what he did voice in actual words were, "Brother, Emmett has never wanted anything like he wants this. Please, don't be a fool." And with that said he left leaving only three people remaining in the office: Edward and their two parents.

"Edward, I know you, son, and I do know what you think you're going to try with this stalling tactic. It isn't going to work. You will do what is right as you have always done in the past. Don't let personal interest, desire or foolish stubbornness get in the way of business.

"You've never handled business like this in the past and that's why you three have made this company as successful as it is. Don't change that combination now, in mid-stream, as the saying goes. Conduct your business impartially, but, with honesty and forthrightfulness. That is what you've been taught all of your life and we expect no less from you now." Carlisle finished speaking to his son.

He thought he knew what Edward's problem was since he had encountered the same with Esme, but, now wasn't the time to point that out to anyone. It wouldn't be received in a believable light or with any objectivity by the person that was making all of the mistakes at this moment. Carlisle knew that Edward had met his Waterloo and that things would get a whole lot more chaotic before it had a chance of getting better, like it had when he was wooing Esme. So, he smiled, shook his head and placed an arm around his wife's shoulders as both parents began walking towards the door to leave.

However, as they did reach the door, just before opening it, Esme turned to level an eye at Edward and remarked, "Don't mess with a good thing. Sign the contract and see how much brighter your future could be with the right attitude." And, with that said she swept out the door with Carlisle following behind after tossing one final look at his son in warning.

Edward didn't break the eye contact with his father, but, he was a bit curious as to why both of his parents gave him such a strange look at different times just before leaving. And, what the hell did his mother mean with her statement? But, after a minute or two he moved on from that to working on a plan as to how he was going to get the elusive Ms. Swan to meet with him to discuss the contract and the changes that he wants made.

Next, he had to consider how he could possibly get her to listen to his suggestions and to be reasonable about the changes. And that last part was going to be tougher than getting her to meet with him. Of course, he knew that the desired meeting was going to be rough enough to pull off since she had no trust in him whatsoever. And, he admitted to himself that if the circumstances were reversed then he would be just as leery as Ms. Swan was being; just as distrustful as well.

XXXXXX

"I take it the meeting didn't go as you had hoped?" Rosalie commented as Bella walking in the door with her features set in a more frozen composure. In fact, she looked absolutely angry about something or someone, perhaps, both, was the quick thought that flashed in Rosalie's mind. And, because of that she was a bit hesitant to ask any pointed questions concerning her cousin's meeting with the famous Cullen trio.

"Hell no, it didn't. That asshole had the nerve to insinuate that I was an easy lay he wanted after I had accidently bumped into him as I was leaving the ladies' restroom. Then he had an attitude once I did get back to the office by accusing me of holding up the meeting when he was the one that was late." Bella was nearly shouting by the time she got to the end of her rant.

"Cousin mine, I'm sure you set him straight." Rose said with a chuckle as the possible scenario of what could have happened ran through her thoughts.

"Yeah, but, I wasn't the only one. And, before I tell you about that mess, I have to say that I see why you're so taken with one Mr. Emmett Cullen. He's sweet, adorable and reminds me of a teddy bear, but, seems to have a strong sense of determination and purpose for business."

"Emmett was there?"

"Sure was, and the parents were there as well. Of course, Jasper Cullen was present, also since he's the one that seems to be spearheading the contractual part of this situation."

"So, you got to meet the whole family?"

"That I did, and Mama Cullen got a hold of the asshat and drug him out by the ear to have a few private words with him after the second showdown that happened had taken place in his office in front of everyone. Even Daddy Cullen took part in that private conversation along with Mama Cullen and bad boy Cullen. However, before you ask, no, no one was present for the first incident since it took place in an empty hallway outside of the ladies' restroom." Bella told her cousin.

And, with those casual remarks made by Bella, Rosalie demanded to hear the whole story, from start to finish, not just random snippets. "And, don't leave a damn thing out. I want to know it all." So, the two women settled down and Bella did relay all that had taken place. "But, I don't know what took place after I left, however, as Mark and I were leaving the outer office we did hear a few raised voices; not anything that could be understood, but, you could tell that some anger was sparking the conversation."

"Bella, what can I say? Who knew that an author's life would carry as much drama and excitement as yours seems to have in it?

"Alice and I live and work here in L. A. where excitement is an everyday thing in the areas we are associated, but, for someone from Forks, Washington, moved to Seattle and wrote their first book it is unheard of." After having a good laugh about the events that Bella had described Rosalie offered her opinion about the mishaps that were seeming to follow her cousin as of late.

"I know, I agree with you, who would have thought? Alice will be over a bit later and will want to know what happened, but, I'm having dinner with Mark this evening since he wants to discuss business. So, that means that you're going to have to be the one to tell her the whole thing." Bella explained as she rose to head to her room so she could freshen up and get ready to meet Mark for dinner.

After Bella left for her dinner appointment, two things happened at the same time. Alice arrived at Rosalie's just as a delivery was being left on the doorstep of three dozen red roses. And, of course, Alice being Alice, she was curious as hell about who would be sending roses to Rosalie; that, at least, is who she assumed the flowers were for.

So, picking them up she continued on through the door while yelling for Rosalie and Bella. The only one to answer was the owner of the home, Rosalie, who admired the flowers and asked who they were from. Alice answered that she had no idea and thought they were for Rose. And, it was as Alice set the flowers down that both women spied the small envelope peeking out from amongst the flowers. Being careful in retrieving the envelope in case of thorns, Rosalie broke the seal and opened it to find a note addressed to Bella.

And, as she commented about that to Alice and was about to slip the card back into the envelope Rosalie noticed the name at the bottom of the card; it was from Edward Cullen.

 **A/N: So, Bella has gone to dinner with Mark to discuss business. Edward is trying to find a way to get his way about the contract. Rosalie and Bella had a good laugh about the incidents that had happened that day. Alice is curious about what happened and why the flowers. What is going to be the final outcome about the contract and who is going to get their way?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _And, as she commented about that to Alice and was about to slip the card back into the envelope Rosalie noticed the name at the bottom of the card; it was from Edward Cullen._

 **CHAPTER 15: IS IT KARMA?**

While Bella and Mark were having a quiet dinner to discuss all that has been happening concerning the purposed contract and its signing, Edward was patiently thinking about his plan to get the 'thorn in his side', as he phrased it, alone and away from others so he could speak with her. He wanted her to bow to his terms of the contract and then, perhaps, to his own more personal desires. The poor man was still having a hard time getting her out of his head. It seemed that for some unexplainable reason she had taken up residence in his thought and refused to vacate them no matter how hard he tried to shake her hold.

Edward was getting so caught up in the pictures that were mentally flashing across his mind of all that he would like to do, or see Ms. Swan do, that he was nearing the breaking point of having a complete mess in due to all of his excitement. And, it was that realization that brought him back to the present before a change of clothing became a demanding necessity. That would have been an absolute embarrassment considering he was still at the office and his assistant hadn't left for the day yet.

It was then that he vowed that Ms. Swan had a lot of making up to do to him before he would be through with her. She needed to learn what a woman's true functions were and to stop putting herself above her superiors.

So, he moved to set his plans in place. Without having his PA handle the matter, Edward called the florist he kept on speed dial and ordered roses be sent to Ms. Swan, but, before he could complete the order he realized that he had no idea where she was staying. It was with that realization that he knew he would have to call Jasper and ask if he knew. It was a safe bet that Jasper would be able to give him all of the necessary information, but, he also knew that his brother was going to question him as to why Edward would need such information.

Edward also knew that by taking his current planned action that it would lull his family into believing that he had backed off and was accepting the contract as it stood. It was especially beneficial to his health that his brother, Emmett, believed that he was getting his way in this matter; that Edward had decided to back down and do what was necessary for Emmett to be able to make the desired film.

It was rare to see Emmett take such a demandingly strong stand about something since he was such an easy-going person, but, he wasn't backing down about turning this damn book into a movie. There was something in the writing that had taken a hold and was pushing Emmett to put the story into action and to display across the big screen for everyone to see. But, the way Emmett was standing his ground made him a man not to mess with any sort of interference.

Both Edward and Jasper had learnt that lesson the hard way on two different occasions. Emmett had made known his stance on both of those past experiences when the two brothers had gone against Emmett's desires which led to some painful lessons. It's about those past moments that Jasper had reminded Edward earlier after Emmett had used a certain tone of voice. Nope, Edward was definitely not going to risk a repeat of past lessons; but, there was nothing against him trying in a more delicate way of trying to get Ms. Swan to change her mind and to see things more his way.

So, picking up his phone and dialing Jasper's number, Edward waited for his brother to answer the call. It seemed to take forever, but, finally, Jasper did answer, and Edward made his request. Before Jasper was willing to give that information to Edward and let him anywhere near Bella again, he demanded to know why Edward wanted to know. Once it was explained that Edward was wanting to send some roses as a way of apologizing, but, couldn't because he had no idea where to have them delivered, Jasper paused as if weighing what his brother had told him as if trying to fault what Edward had said, but, not able to find anything wrong, he then told Edward where to send the flowers.

After getting the information, he needed Edward decided that instead of calling the florist back to give them the address that he would go by the shop and finish handling the matter in person. He had given it some thought when he got off the phone with Jasper and felt that it would have more of an impact if he signed the card personally instead of letting the shop attendant do it. The objective was to get Ms. Swan to drop her guard low enough for him to be able to get her alone and then to begin his onslaught in winning her over to his way of thinking.

Once the order had been finalized and he knew that the roses were on their way to being delivered, Edward headed home with a lighter step and a feeling that things were finally about to turn around to go the way he wanted. He had plans for tonight that he hoped would help to ease the ache he has been experiencing ever since his first sighting of the lovely Ms. Swan.

XXXXXX

"Do you mind telling me what the hell was going on between you and Edward Cullen today? What in the devil did he do that caused you to react the way you did in his office? What could he have done that deserved such a violent reaction from you? I don't understand you, Bella, that isn't the way I've ever seen you behave regardless of the circumstances before this." Mark was busy questioning his client after the waitress had taken their order and brought their drinks leaving them with some privacy.

"I realize that my actions are a bit surprising, but, there was more going on than what you or the others were aware. It was because of that and the fact that I had already been forewarned about Mr. Edward Cullen's playboy attitude that was the culprit that caused me to behave as I did."

"Okay. Would you mind filling me in on whatever it is that you know, and I don't about Mr. Edward Cullen?"

So, Bella did as Mark had requested and told him what both Rosalie and Alice had told her about all three brothers. It then that she informed Mark about what had taken place in Pike's Place Market with the stalking and finished by sharing about the incident that had taken place in the hallway. "The comments he made as I had accidently run into him just before the both of us had returned to his office today. But, the attitude and accusation as I did enter his office was the straw that broke the camel's back. Enough was enough."

Poor Mark was at a loss as to what he could say after Bella got through with her explanation. Everything that Bella had told him seemed to be farfetched, but, he was aware, also, that she had no reason to be making up such nonsense. It just wasn't like her. Although, Mark, himself, had made some inquiries about the Cullen brothers and what he found out fell in line with what Bella had just said. And, it was then that he remembered how Edward had kept glancing over in Bella's direction at the time he had first met him at the restaurant in Seattle.

But, although, the man had an interest in Bella, would he really go as far as she had just told him? Surely, he would have enough sense to know not to mix business and pleasure together. That was a sure recipe for disaster, especially, with someone as strong willed as Isabella Swan.

"So, what did you think about Emmett Cullen and his strong desire to make my book in a movie?" Bella asked at the same moment as their waitress had returned to serve their dinner.

"He seemed to have great determination to have his way. But, I have to say that I've heard nothing, but, great things about him, his creativity and his work ethics. It is reported that he's dedicated to his work, but, treats his staff with the same respect that he expects to be returned. There is no confusion or favoritism shown by or to the people he works with on any of his projects. And, everyone feels he's a genius because whatever film he makes always wins awards as well as makes money for everyone." Mark told her.

"I have to agree with you. He seemed very passionate about his work and very determined to make my book into a movie. But, I do wonder if Edward Cullen calls the shots in that department the same as he seems to do in all of the other departments?" Bella commented and then tossed out her casual question.

"I really think that he would like to do that, however, the impression I got from all that I had heard or seen today, and, have discovered in my research is that he doesn't have final say in everything. His brothers run their own departments, but, he does have final say on anything that affects the financial outcome of the overall business."

"That figures! He's arrogant enough to demand to hold such sway over matters."

"Now, Bella, that's unfair. All successful businesses operate in that manner and you know it. But, I do have to agree that he does seem to have a self-inflated ego about his own self-worth."

And, with both, Mark and Bella, agreeing about the opinion they each hold concerning on Edward Cullen, their conversation passed on to other topics for the rest of their dinner. They spent a pleasant evening together, not as agent and client, but, as friends.

XXXXXX

As Edward was congratulating himself over his carefully connived plan to get to Isabella Swan and preparing to have what he thought would be a very entertaining and stress-free evening. He envisioned a very rewarding evening ending in some delightful benefits that involved the entire night until dawn.

And, Bella was having a very good carefree evening with Mark. After they had gotten through dinner, both had decided to go on to a very popular club for a few drinks and some dancing.

But, Alice had a few questions about why Edward Cullen would be sending roses to Bella with a card apologizing for his behavior from earlier in the day. She looked at Rosalie with a raised brow in question as to whether her cousin knew the answer to the unasked question.

Rosalie saw Alice's expression and started laughing which indicated to Alice that Rosalie did indeed know what was going on. "Okay, Rosie, you know what all of this is about, so, spill." She demanded.

Rosalie motioned for Alice to follow her to the living room and indicated that she should sit down the same as Rosalie was doing. The whole time Rosalie was still lightly laughing to the annoyance of Alice. But, as both were seated, Alice told her to stop with the private joke and to explain what is going on.

It didn't take long, and after Rosalie had told Alice all that had happened between their cousin and Edward Cullen, both women were nearly rolling into the floor from laughing so hard. "Only Bella could have such things happen to her." Alice said as she was trying to catch her breath.

"Do you really think that he's sorry for what happened or it's just a front?" Alice asked.

"It's a front." Rosalie remarked with no further explanation.

XXXXXX

Bella was starting to get concerned about Mark since he was consuming quite a few drinks. She didn't know what his tolerance level might be, but, felt that before the evening was over she would find out. However, she couldn't say much because she had put away a few herself.

Time passed, and the events of the day were starting to catch up with Bella and she insisted that she and Mark call it an evening. He agreed since he wasn't feeling any pain, so, they took a cab back to Mark's hotel since Bella wanted to make sure that he got to his room without incident.

With getting him safely installed and it was as she was leaving his room that several things happened all at the same time. She was backing out of Mark's room trying to close the door quietly since she could only get him as far as a couch as he passed out, that she didn't see the other person across the hall leaving the room on the opposite side, so, they backed into each other which the impact was such that it sent Bella flying forward into the wall hitting her head hard enough that she was knocked out.

The other person she had collided with turned to see who he had backed into and swore, "Oh, shit damn, no. It had to be her."

 **A/N: Any idea who Bella backed into? How will this mess be handled?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _The other person she had collided with turned to see who he had backed into and sworn, "Oh, shit damn, no. It had to be her."_

 **CHAPTER 16: MISLEADING FACTS**

"No. No. No. Why me? This can't be happening. Not now." He kept rambling aloud to himself as he stared down at the woman he had backed into and sent flying across the hallway only to be stopped by a solid wall which knocked her out cold. Poor Edward was in near panic mold as to how he was going to handle this; he saw different scenarios flashing through his mind of her reaction, her agent's reaction and then the most horrible of them all, was the reaction of his family members.

Edward knew that he was in a shit of a situation and at the moment had no idea how he would fare if anyone ever found out. The one thing that he needed to do at the moment was to get the both of them out of the hallway and undercover. For if even the paps found out about this and who the woman was all hell would break loose as soon as the story hit the streets and the airwaves.

He bent down to pick her up and decided that the best place to go would be back into the room she had just left since that was more than likely her room. Although, at the moment, Edward wasn't taking the time to reason out that he had had his flower delivery sent to a different address when Jasper had told him that Ms. Swan was staying at the other address. Maybe, once the drama had smoothed out he would allow his brain to catch up with his panic.

As he put his arm under her shoulders to raise her into a half sitting position, Edward noticed the keycard lying on the floor. He quickly picked it up and then rose to a standing position all the while bringing her up as well to where she appeared to be standing next to him. That way if anyone exiting from the elevators happened along no one would suspect that any sort of accident had taken place.

He moved them forward to where they both were standing directly in front of the door and he quickly swiped the keycard, so the door would unlock and allow them to enter. Once inside Edward kicked the door closed, got a better hold of Bella as she was slowly starting to slip back down toward the floor and that was starting to interfere with his balance, as well; so, as he reestablished the balance for the both of them he noticed the man lying face down on the couch. But, the man's position was such that Edward wasn't able to see the man's face.

The position that both he and Bella were in was becoming very awkward and extremely uncomfortable, so, he decided to correct the situation. He bent slightly at the knees, slipped his arm underneath her legs and picked her up as he was looking for a place to place her. The only available place was a chair directly across from the couch with the sleeping male form upon it and it didn't look all that comfortable to him. But, he decided that it would have to do for the moment. He needed time and the freedom to be able to look around before making any further decisions.

Edward was a bit puzzled as to what he had witnessed and started to look around to figure out what was fact and what was merely his assumption of things. He wandered around looking for evidence that this was Ms. Swan's suite, but, found nothing in the immediate area. So, he walked into the bedroom and looked in the closet only to find men's suits hanging there. That led him to the bathroom and there was the same evidence by the items that he saw, that only a man occupied the suite. There was nothing showing that a woman was sharing this room as well.

Poor Edward, without realizing it, was about to jump to some wrong conclusions that would indeed bring nothing, but, regrets later. However, at the present time, he used what evidence he thought he was seeing correctly to believe that Ms. Isabella Swan had double standards. Because of that he wondered why she was reacting so violently against what he had said earlier to her in the hallway at his office. In his opinion, he was a hell of a lot better prospect than some joker she picked up in some bar.

After he got through checking out all the rooms of the suite, Edward decided that maybe the current situation with a man passed out on the couch and Bella unconscious in a chair was better left as it was. That way he could leave and neither of the two people unconscious would know of his involvement. In fact, no one would know of his involvement and that would keep any gossip down.

So, with that thought weaving a path through his mind, Edward impulsively acted on it. He left the room after tossing the keycard onto the table beside Bella's chair. But, before stepping out into the hallway, Edward did check to make sure no one else was present as he left the room and wandered down toward the elevators to quietly disappear from the scene.

XXXXXX

Both Alice and Rosalie were so busy enjoying the story that Bella had shared with Rosalie earlier in the day about the meeting she had had with Edward Cullen and sharing a great deal of wine, that they didn't realize how late it was getting. This caused them to miss that Bella hadn't even returned from her evening out with her agent. Finally, the two cousins fell asleep where they were sitting. Well, really, they passed out where they were sitting from the amount of wine they had consumed.

The next morning the constant ringing of a phone managed to slowly begin to seep through Rosalie's unconsciousness. At first, she had a hard time recognizing the noise, but, when she was finally awake enough to realize it was the phone her hand reached out to try to find it. The ringing stopped, so, Rosalie started to doze back off to sleep, but, the peace didn't last for long; the phone started to ring again.

This time the ringing was starting to get through to Alice and she, the same as Rosalie had done, reached out to find the phone. But, the same as with her cousin, the ringing stopped. But, unlike her cousin, she began to become more awake and felt the need to take care of her body's private demands in the bathroom. And, two of those demands that were making themselves very well known were a pounding headache and a rolling stomach. The latter was the one that sent Alice running to the bathroom the quickest.

While Alice was taking care of business, in a manner of speaking, the phone began ringing and that noise once more jarred Rosalie out of her sleep daze once again. And, like the last time she had heard it, she was too late once more to answer it. But, it had brought her to the surface of awareness more than the time before, so, like Alice, her body made her aware of certain needs it was demanding to be taken care of. The biggest was a feeling of all she had consumed the night before demanding to make an encore appearance.

She didn't take the time to head for the nearest bathroom, but, ran into the kitchen to the sink and let her stomach take control for the moment. Just as she had gotten through and had filled a glass full of water, she hears a squeal from Alice which startled the hell out of her. Running back into the living room she saw Alice with her phone held up to her ear listening to something as she was dancing around in a circle.

And, as she was about to ask Alice what was going on her phone began to ring again. Impatiently reaching to answer it, she demanded, "What?!" She hadn't taken the time to check the caller ID to see who was calling her. Then she was momentarily stunned into silence as she listened to the voice that was speaking to her. And, although, she very much was acting like Alice on the inside, her outside appearance was that of a very calm, refined actress on a business call.

Business call is exactly what it was since she was being told that she had made the final cut for the part that she wanted in the new film that Emmett Cullen was going to be making. Her agent explained that some of the finer details in the back office had to be ironed out as yet before filming could begin, but, no one had any doubts as to everything being wrapped up in no time. It was further explained that it was expected that she would be called for the final audition in a few days' time. "So, be ready for a moment's notice, Ms. Hale." Were the parting words of her agent.

Once, each of the cousins got off their phone call they both began talking at the same time telling the other what their call was all about. Rosalie was yelling about receiving a final call back and Alice was yelling that she had received the offer to do the entire designs for the new movie that she had been asked to consider. And, as it so happened, both cousins named the same director, Emmett Cullen, and the fact that it was the same film. The only thing missing from what they were saying is that neither Rosalie or Alice knew the name of the upcoming movie, or, what it was all about as of yet.

During their time of celebration, Alice and Rosalie had forgotten about their ailments for a short time; that is until those ailments began making themselves known once more. Splitting headaches, sensitive to loud noise and the constant jumping causing their stomachs to demand attention once again. The only difference this time was that Rosalie had other demands that required the bathroom which she moved toward at a dead run, almost.

However, Alice moved to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. She had taken a couple of Aleve out of the bathroom cabinet and was using the water to wash them down while the whole time hoping that her stomach would settle down once more.

XXXXXX

Edward awoke with no idea about how he was going to deal with Ms. Swan after the knowledge he had gained concerning her last night. On one hand, he felt guilty about being the cause of her being knocked unconscious, but, on the other hand, it delivered the knowledge that she wasn't as much of a prude as she wanted others to believe.

Now, he needed to have the time to think about how he can use this information to his advantage on two different levels. On one level, to get her to sign the damn contract that he wanted and on the other level, getting her into his bed. But, the main thing he did realize, was that both areas needed to be handled in just the right manner to where nothing would come back to bite him in the ass later from his family.

The first thing he did need to do was to get Ms. Swan to sign the contract so Emmett was made happy and he could begin to make his movie. Yeah, that was the main thing because Emmett wasn't a joke when he wanted something and there was interference from either Jasper or Edward. If Edward was the reason why this didn't happen, there would definitely be pain. Yup, pain, not just from Emmett, but, also from the rest of the family as well. And, that wasn't going to happen if Edward could prevent it.

XXXXXX

Bella was brought back to consciousness by a groan and then the sound of something falling. Quickly opening her eyes, she had a hard time at first recognizing exactly where she was. But, then hearing the moan coming from the couch and seeing the head that was slowly rising above the coffee table, the events of the night before quickly flashed across her memory. And, as that happened she asked herself ' _how the hell had she gotten back into Mark's room?'_

She remembered backing into something that was hard, and the force of that impact had pitched her forward into the wall, but, that was where she had no further memory.

 **A/N: Alice and Rosalie are celebrating while suffering from the ill effects of drinking too much. Edward is trying to figure out a way that he can use what he thinks are actual facts to his advantage. And, Bella is completely bewildered as to how she ended up back in Mark's room. How are things between Edward and Bella going to go next?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I DREAM OF RAINBOWS**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _She remembered backing into something that was hard, and the force of that impact had pitched her forward into the wall, but, that was where she had no further memory._

 **CHAPTER 17: OPEN MOUTH INSERT FOOT**

Groans were coming from the two people that were in the living area of the suite; one set from the woman and one set from the man. Each hearing the other seemed to jerk both to full awareness, but, not without each nursing a headache. Mark was the first to speak as he looked over at Bella as he asked, "How the hell did I get back here and why are you here?" And, as he asked that question, he noticed the large lump that was surrounded by bruising. "Bella, what the hell happened to you?'

"I'm not really sure." Bella answered him before starting to explain to him what she did remember. And, as she was speaking she absentmindedly reached up to rub her throbbing temple and forehead, not remembering the bruising that was appearing around the lump on her forehead right at the beginning of her hairline.

"So, you got me up to my room and was leaving when something or someone launched you into the wall? Do you have any idea who or what it was that caused you to go head first into the wall? Did you have a chance to even catch a quick glance at the who or what caused it?" He asked with an incredulous tone in his voice. "Well, I think we need to get you to a doctor to have your head checked out to make sure no damage has been done. And, I'm suggesting this because of how long you seemed to have been unconscious. Better to be safe than sorry."

"All right, but, do you really think that it's necessary?" Bella agreed and then asked without really seeing any point to taking up someone else's time over what she considered to be a minor thing.

With Bella agreeing to allow Mark to take her in to the emergency room for a checkup, he immediately got up and quickly began to get ready to take her. But, before taking a quick shower and changing into different clothes, he did get a hold of some Aleve and a bottle of water for each of them. Bella took two of the pills he offered to her with a silent smile of thanks as she downed them with the offered water.

"Mark, I really need to go back to Rosalie's to take a quick shower and change my clothes also."

"I really think we need to go ahead and get you to the ER first."

"Then why in the hell are you taking the time to shower and change?"

"Because we're already here at my temporary place and what I need is here. But, that isn't the case for you; you have nothing here to change into before going out." He reasoned with her just before he disappeared into his bedroom.

While he was getting ready, Bella didn't move from where she was seated. All she did was lean her head back as she waited for two things to happen: the pounding in her head to quieten down and for Mark to finish getting ready. As the pain began to ease, she was slowly starting to slip back into a quiet, relaxed sleep without realizing it. She was displaying all the signs of a concussion.

XXXXXX

Edward had stayed on tether hooks as he had quietly left the hotel last night, praying that no one would notice him. He had been lucky that no one had seen the incident that had occurred between him and Ms. Swan in the hallway as they were both leaving the two different rooms. And, he was even more astounded that he had been able to leave the hotel suite and make it all the way to the elevator without anyone showing up. His getaway had been quiet, but, clean. Then his nerves really tightened up as he was leaving the hotel hoping that the paps weren't paying any attention to him as he walked out to grab a cab to take him home.

All night long Edward had expected to hear from someone, media or family, about some slip-up he had made on his way out of the hotel. But, nothing happened. He was still amazed that even this morning rising from bed and listening to the news as he got ready to go to the office, that nothing was being broadcasted about what he had done the night before.

But, Edward wasn't going to relax and breathe a sigh of relief until he made it through this day and nothing happens. His luck never seemed to run in the direction of him being able to get by with anything in this damn busybody town: Hollywood.

Edward got into his car and was backing out of his driveway when he heard the ringtone for his mother. He chose not to answer at that moment and then it rang again with him still not answering since he wasn't that far from emerging into the heavy morning traffic which always annoyed the hell out of him. However, the constant ringing of the phone, on and off, was slowly getting on his nerves, but, he still didn't feel comfortable answering the phone. The fear of what Esme Cullen might be calling about had him completely tensed up.

XXXXXX

After the excitement of the phone calls began to calm down, Rosalie was the first to realize that neither she nor Alice had heard anything from Bella. She went to check in the bedroom that Bella was using and noticed that the bed wasn't messed up. Bella wasn't an early riser and there should still be a lump in the bed, but, there wasn't. Even, if Bella had gone to use the en suite, the bed should have been a mess and sounds should be coming from the bathroom, but, there wasn't. Conclusion: Bella never came home last night.

This thought started a multitude of questions to begin running around in Rosalie's mind. However, the one thing that began to take over from all of the questions was a worried concern about where Bella was. Next, why hadn't she come home last night? And, with that last question crossing her mind, Rosalie quickly rushed back to where she had placed her phone to check for any missed calls, any possible texts or, perhaps, any voicemail from her.

There was nothing, so, she tossed the phone down onto the sofa and yelled for Alice. "Alice, do you have any missed calls, any text messages or voicemail from Bella?"

"I don't know. Why?" Alice replied as she came back into the living room after taking the time to freshen up a bit before heading back to her place.

"Will you check? She didn't come in last night and I'm worried. I don't have anything on my phone indicating that she tried reaching me, or, was trying to let me know that she wouldn't be in." Rosalie explained to her cousin. So, Alice did reach out and checked her phone to see if there was anything from Bella.

"I don't see anything from her." Alice told her, she paused to look at Rosalie closely and then asked, "What exactly were Bella's plans for last night?"

"She and her agent, Mark, were going out for dinner and to talk business during that time. Afterwards, I'm not sure, they may have decided to relax a bit at some club, but, she still would have let us know if she wasn't going to be coming back.

"Seriously, have you ever known Bella not to let someone know about any big changes to her plans? She knows that we would be worried if she didn't call or come back. That with no call we would know that something would have happened to her."

"What are you wanting to do, Rosie, call the police?"

"I don't know what to do. All I do know is that something happened to her and Mark last night; something that stopped either one of them from calling us to let us know."

The two women continued to discuss what they should do, call the police, the hospitals, or, just wait for a while to see if Bella will show up on her own. It was decided to give Bella the time to get in touch with them because a person has to be missing for forty-eight hours before the police will start to take any action. But, nothing was stopping them from checking with the hospitals, however, Alice brought some sanity back to the situation by reasoning that if Bella or Mark had had an accident and had been taken to a hospital the police would have been by to let them know.

"Okay, I guess we wait to see what happens. But, I don't promise to be the 'life of the party' once she does appear." Rosalie promised to no one in particular.

XXXXXX

Mark was leaving the hospital after getting Bella settled. It turned out that she did have some bruising of her brain and a concussion, so, the doctor attending her wanted her to stay for a day or two, so they could keep a close watch on her. It was just in case things got a bit more severe. Now, he had to inform Bella's cousins and postpone any further contact with the movie project. At least, that had to be put on the back burner until Bella was feeling a hell of a lot better.

She wasn't happy about having to stay, but, finally agreed to it.

Mark walked out to grab a cab and head over to Rosalie Hale's place. He was hoping that he could fully explain what had happened and let them know about Bella without them doing serious damage to him in any region of his body, especially in the nether region. At least, his head, or, rather, headache, was gone. The Aleve that he had taken earlier had finally kicked in and was doing wonders. Even, the tension he felt surrounding the guilt he had been feeling concerning what had happened to Bella was lessening. However, in its place and taking very firm hold is the fear of what Bella's cousins are going to do to him. He knew that he was responsible for Bella being in the condition she was in, despite how much she protested otherwise. And, he knew he was the cause for her present stay in the hospital.

After a short wait, a cab dropped off its last fare and Mark was able to use it to get to his destination. And, the closer he got, the worse his guilt and fear became. But, he gave himself a mental pep talk, while wishing that he had time to have a taste of some 'Dutch courage', before facing Bella's cousins. These thoughts stayed with him all the way to the house, but, once the cab came to a halt in front of the door and he had to accept that he had arrived at his destination, all Mark could do was pay the driver and get out and prepare himself to face his fate. So, with the cab gone, Mark stood before the door all alone, he heaved a big sigh, raised his hand and knocked.

It didn't take long for the door to be answered and Mark found himself facing what he considered to be the more mild-mannered cousin, Alice. And, all she did was stand there looking at him before trying to look behind him as if she was seeking something. The time had arrived more quickly than he had wished to confess to them what had happened.

Alice did move to one side so Mark could step on into the house. Once she had closed the door, she led the way for him to follow her into the living room where Rosalie was waiting. When she saw that only Mark had returned, she looked at him with a frightening stare letting him know that he was about to be dealt with severely if they didn't get an explanation as to where Bella was.

XXXXXX

Edward arrived at his office with no mention of last night's incident. And, with the day progressing with no mishaps, or, any mention of anything out of the ordinary, he began to relax and let his guard down. In fact, he had got so comfortable knowing that no one knew anything that his brain didn't catch up to his mouth quick enough when his mother surprised him with a call and the comment, "You should be ashamed of yourself, Edward Anthony, for treating Ms. Swan the way you did last night."

"Mom, I didn't mean to knock her into the wall. It was an accident. I didn't even know that anyone was behind me when I was leaving."

"Edward, what did you just say? What are you talking about? Damn, son what did you do? I want the full story. NOW!"

That was when Edward realized that his mother wasn't speaking about the accident, but, possibly his behavior. Shit, due to his own fault he was in deep trouble.

 **A/N: Poor Mark, he's having to face Rosalie and Alice to confess what had happened to Bella and to let them know that she was in the hospital. And, Edward, due to his own mistake, ended up confessing his guilt to his mother. What's going to happen to both men after they get through talking?**

 **Your thoughts and comments as always are welcomed.**


End file.
